Dominion of Darkness
by PeskyMynock
Summary: When Jysella Horn mysteriously disappears, Corran, Luke, Mara and Kyp venture after her and unwittingly uncover a secret deep in the heart of Coruscant in the process. My first story, FINALLY finished.
1. Chapter 1

The three Jedi raced through the broken city, weaving through the scattered remains, hot on the heels of the lithe figure in front of them. Their mad chase took place deep underground the on planet Coruscant. Despite flickering lights and years of abuse, Kyp could tell the abandoned grand hall was once quite beautiful. Rows of columns reached high into the receding darkness above. Clearly, this was a room built to impress, and privately, Kyp mused, it probably once rivaled the grand hall of the Imperial Palace itself.

Kyp somersaulted over a fallen pillar and immediately had to dance around a jagged support beam that had been wrenched from a mangled part of the floor. The figure ahead remained just out of reach, dancing across the ruins as if the chase was a practiced routine. With feline fluidity, it scurried to the broken top of a great column that had been shattered into two jagged pieces. Reaching the precipice, it leapt to the next column, only to hit it with both feet, ricochet off, do a 180 degree back flip and land firmly on a decorative outcropping that lined the upper wall.

This thing, whatever it was, was good.

Kyp stopped running and let out a frustrated snort as Corran and Luke skid to a halt beside him. The three men watched the figure's acrobatics take place above them.

"We're not gaining any ground on this thing. Do we have a "plan B" or are we just going to hope it gets tired before we do?" Kyp inquired.

Luke shook his head slowly, clearly stretching out for answers in the Force. His breathing was controlled and rhythmic, despite the full on sprint they had been maintaining for some time.

Corran turned towards Kyp with a raggedly determined, almost feral look in his eye. "We don't stop until I find my daughter."

Turning back towards Luke, Kyp saw the Grand Master hold a steady gaze with the figure above. It had finally stopped moving as well and held its ground on the outcropping it had landed on. Despite the mask, Kyp could tell the figure was staring right back in a high stakes stare-off.

Patience was never his virtue. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Kyp reached for his lightsaber with the impulsiveness he was known for. It ignited with a familiar thrum and cast deep shadows further into the room. Spinning with it once to gain momentum, he thrust it forward with all his strength and the deadly precision of the Force. The blade flew at the footing of the figure, carving a new wound in the Grand Hall and forcing the being to make a split decision.

A split decision that forced the masked figure to give the Jedi the advantage.

The being leapt for the nearest pillar but didn't have the momentum or footing to be successful. Seeing it was not going to make it, it began to squirm in a mid-air panic. It plummeted several meters flailing before its falling began to slow. The figure was caught in an invisible hand and spared a grisly meeting with the gnarled ground below.

However, its momentary safety also meant that it was finally apprehended.

Kyp looked over at Luke with a cocked grin. The Grand Master had been able to establish a Force hold on the elusive being and held it squirming mid-air. He stood, eyes locked in concentration. The figure writhed in its invisible prison, held just out of foothold from the ground.

Corran wasted no time. With precision that had been drilled into him from his service in CorSec, Corran grabbed the figure, wrenched its arms behind its back and had it face down on the ground before the slender being could even hope to put up a fight. Using a Force technique, he willed it into a subdued, trance like sleep. Hauling the slumped figure over a shoulder, Corran turned to face the other two Jedi.

Luke nodded in his direction. "We'll head back to the temple."

"And finally get some answers," Corran finished.

"Fantastic," Kyp remarked, calling his lightsaber back into his hand. "Looks like I won't have to cancel my evening plans after all."

Corran threw him an annoyed look. "I don't why we invite you to these things sometimes."

Kyp and Corran had never been the best of friends. They were both excellent Jedi and extremely skilled, but their differing personalities often drove a wedge between them. Sensing tension, Luke interjected before Kyp could retort. "C'mon guys, let's get moving. We have a long way to go before anyone gets to enjoy answers… or free time." Luke watched the two cast each other one last watchful glance, then turn and head back the way they came.

Luke spared one last look behind him down the decaying grand hall. The darkness stretched in infinity beyond the lit section the Jedi stood in, as if anticipating its full claim to large chamber once the last of the weak, flickering lights finally sputtered and died. A slight tingle on the back of Luke's neck told him something was amiss, though he couldn't quite place it.

_As if we are being watched._

Luke turned back to watch Corran and Kyp. They continued to walk on in silence.

Making a mental note of the distant sensation, he moved forward to catch up with them.


	2. Chapter 2

Evening was encroaching on the horizon when they finally made it back up from Coruscant's dark underworld. The Jedi temple loomed ahead like a light at the end of a long tunnel.

Cilghal awaited the three men and their quarry at the emergency medical entrance at the back of the temple. Not as visible or conspicuous to wandering eyes, the alternate entrance made for the perfect place to haul in the figure they had chased down. Corran carried the being across a shoulder, flanked on either side by Kyp and Luke. As they grew close, Cilghal eyed the unconscious figure with her large, bulbous eyes. It wore strange, dark clothing that covered the figure from head to toe. The material seemed flexible, yet highly durable, as if some sort of armor. The mask it wore was also dark. It bore no decorative features and gave its wearer a chilling, faceless effect. The being itself was slender, though perhaps slightly taller than Corran. Cilghal accompanied the others inside and sealed the door behind them. They did not speak until they made it to the turbolift at the end of the corridor, descending to their destination. "Quite interesting," she remarked.

"And becoming increasingly quite heavy," replied Corran. He glanced over at Kyp in time to see the younger man roll his eyes. Though Luke and Kyp had both offered to help carry the figure back, he had refused, insisting that it not be out of his grasp. The potential knowledge it carried of his daughter's whereabouts were too important.

To think, 23 standard hours ago, he had tucked Jysella into bed. All had been well.

Tekli was just finishing preparations in a special room designed for the new "visitor." Deep in the bowels of the temple, on the very bottom level, it was private and contained, perfect for just such an escape artist. The chadra-fan scurried to the side as the group entered.

Corran unceremoniously dumped the figure on the small medical cot in the middle of the room that had been provided. It was clear that the situation had him in quite a bit of distress. Though, Luke thought, he would be just as distraught if his son, Ben, had been taken under similar circumstances.

They circled around the unconscious figure.

Cilghal gingerly slipped a webbed hand under the neck, then raised the other to the base of the mask. Slowly, she pulled the mask up. Along with faceless mask came the entire hood that enclosed the head.

Large, brown curls spilled out first. As the mask was pulled fully up and away, it was clear their elusive figure was a young woman.

Kyp raised an eyebrow. For someone so young, she had certainly kept the chase interesting for three seasoned Jedi. Not an easy feat.

Luke seemed to read his thoughts. "Mara about this age when she was first put into the service of the Emperor," he said quietly. "Perhaps she has a similar history?"

The comment seemed to knock Corran out of a momentary revere. He leaned forward and put a hand to the unconscious woman's forehead. "I know a way to find out. I'm going to bring her out of the trance."

The other four Jedi braced themselves. Tekli sealed the door behind them. Kyp pushed his cloak back and placed a hand instinctively on the lightsaber that hung from his belt. Cilghal and Luke stood closest to the cot and at attention, prepared for a physical struggle if necessary.

Corran's eyes fluttered shut for a moment, then he removed his hand from the woman's forehead, opened his eyes and took half a step back.

They stood in anticipation. Suddenly, her eyes began to flutter.

She took in her surroundings in stride. She made eye contact with Luke, then Cilghal, then sat up slowly to regard the rest of them in turn. She seemed eerily calm to Kyp. Her sudden complacency with her captivity was in direct contrast to her earlier desperation to flee from them in the underground city.

Luke broke the silence. "We mean you no harm," he started. "We simply have a few questions for you. We are looking for a girl. Corran's daughter," Luke gestured to the Corellian Jedi. "She was taken from her home by a person we believe you may know. Do you know where she is?"

Corran watched the young woman, waiting eagerly for a response. This was going to be it, a solid lead that would end his chase. Flashbacks from Jysella's kidnapping ran rampant through his mind on a terrible, endless repeat.

_Jysella had screamed, waking both Mirax and me._

_I grabbed my lightsaber off the night stand, threw the sheets off of me and ran for her room, Mirax right behind me._

_A dark, looming figure stood there, near her bed. It had her in its grasp. Jysella struggled against it. The window was open; it had pried its way through there._

_I lunged forward with my lightsaber. The thing turned._

_It had no eyes._

_Faceless._

_It reached a hand up to intercept my blade. I expected the fight to be over there. Instead my blade sputtered against the armor uselessly._

_What? Could it be cortosis armor?_

_It backed away to the window, smashing the pane and transparisteel with its free hand with the strength of several wookiees._

_I lunged for it. I couldn't let it get away._

_And then it jumped._

_I ran to the edge and felt the strong, cold Coruscant wind cutting at my skin. I looked down after it. They had vanished._

_Can't be!_

_Behind me, Mirax held a visibly upset Valin at the door to the room. Their faces held the same terror I felt in my heart._

_How did I let Jysella slip away?_

Corran felt his hands were clenched tightly into fists at his sides. He was exhausted, angry, and ready to bring his daughter home any way possible. When the young woman hesitated to answer, he fought the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake a response from her.

Luke sensed his anxiety. _Calm_, he sent through the Force.

Corran forced his hands to relax. Luke was right. If he was going to make any progress, he was going to have to be collected.

Finally, the strange woman responded. "You're Jedi."

"Yes," Luke replied for the group.

A sad smile crept across her face. "It's too late. She has her."

"Who?" Corran insisted. He came forward and leaned towards her. "Give me a name."

She regarded him despairingly. "It's always the same. Someone always comes looking and she captures them, too. You're falling for her game. You'll be just another pawn. You have to break the cycle. Let the child go."

"It'll be a cold day in hell!" Corran growled. "Now tell me!"

A distant rumble vibrated through the floor. The woman looked down, then back up to meet Corran's eyes.

"You're too late," she whispered.

Suddenly the floor ruptured, giving birth to a large black, faceless beast of a figure. It heaved itself up with a speed that was uncanny for its size. It was armed with unfamiliar yet clearly deadly weaponry. Its entrance flung Corran and Cilghal to the ground on the far side of the room and flipped the bed on its side. Luke and Kyp jumped backwards out of the way as the furniture slammed to the floor.

The Jedi reacted instantly. Five brilliant blades came alive in unison.

However, the thing was not interested in a fight. It lurched forward and scooped up the woman, batting aside their initial glancing attacks. She slipped a hand through a loop on its clothing on the arm and held tight, keeping her head ducked down. With her in possession, the beast wormed its way back the hole it created and slipped through.

Corran was the first to leap after the escapees, followed closely by the rest.

Corran scanned the subterranean room with his lightsaber held high for light. However, the two were nowhere to be seen.

"Sith spawn!" he cursed. "How is that possible?"

The Jedi stood in silence in the darkened room, accompanied only by the hum of their lightsabers. The mysteries of this case, it seemed, ran deeper than the darkness itself.


	3. Chapter 3

Kyp Durron had excused himself from the chaos of the search to return home to his meager apartment. The Jedi agreed that tackling these dark clothed figures was going to take a better plan than the ones they had previously devised. Cilghal met Tionne in the archives to continue the research. Corran and Mirax did their best to assist the Jedi team looking for clues. Luke was obligated to attend to the other needs of the temple. Being the Grand Master meant he was rarely able to fully devote himself to any one task for an extended amount of time.

And then there was Kyp. Luke had encouraged him to take a break and get some rest. He wanted Kyp to be one of the several Jedi to accompany Corran on the next excursion underground, much to Corran's chagrin. Luke had asked Corran to get some rest as well, though of course the Corellian had refused. Corran wanted to be involved every step of the way, determined to get his daughter home safe.

Kyp didn't spent a lot of time in his apartment. He was rarely even on Coruscant for an extended period of time anymore, despite the Jedi Temple being here. Most of his missions of late had taken him to the far reaches of the galaxy. As one of the most powerful and skilled Jedi in the order, his missions were often the most dangerous as well. When he was on Coruscant, he often assisted with classes in the Temple. The young trainees were often in awe of Kyp, whispering tales of his adventures. His lectures ended up as story telling half the time. He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy their fascination and praise. Usually that was the reason his classes ran long. The missions, travel and teaching were alright, though. He preferred to stay busy. It kept his mind off his past.

Unclasping his cloak, he draped it on the back side of a chair as he walked in. He activated the lights and ran his right hand through his long, dark mane of hair. It was his best feature. Walking into the kitchen, he took inventory of his food. With a sigh, he decided nothing sounded good enough to eat. He considered for a moment comming a friend to go out and grab a bite to eat, then decided against it. Foregoing a snack, he grabbed some ale and opened that instead. This kind particular brew was one of Han Solo's favorites. Kyp had learned to enjoy it over the years he and Han had been friends.

Kyp returned to the main living area with his drink. He sat on the couch for a moment, in silence, with his beverage. It was in the quiet moments that thoughts of Carida came back to haunt him. Under the influence of Exar Kun, he had stolen the Sun Crusher and obliterated millions, including the last of his own family. The terror on his brother's face before his death was still seared into his memory. How many years of Jedi service would it take before his enormous debt to the galaxy was paid?

That thought made him shift uncomfortably. He leaned forward on the couch and placed his drink on the small side table. He planted his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes. Flashes of his dark past continued to swirl through his brain. It was a nightmare that would always haunt him. He decided, wryly, that repaying that debt would take a bit longer than one human lifespan could possibly accomplish. He wondered if he would ever earn peace.

He took a deep breath and ran through a quick Jedi calming technique to flush away the last thoughts of Carida. Picking up his drink once more, he took a swig and considered the flavors as they washed over his tongue. It tasted like better times, more recent times. Well, recent times minus Jysella's kidnapping. For a moment, he felt guilty for enjoying himself. Corran was in a terrible, restless state and would be until his family was complete again. Kyp never had much love for Corran. Their differences in opinion and approach often drove a wedge between them. However, he could sympathize with the older Jedi. Kyp imagined that if he had a child, he would be just as restlessly driven and find and protect her. However, Master Skywalker had ordered Kyp to go home and rest. Kyp mused it was as much to keep him refreshed and ready to go as it was to get him out of Corran's hair for the evening.

Leaning back, he decided to enjoy the silence. It was rare he got it outside of sitting alone in his ship, travelling through hyperspace. He propped his feet up on the small table and reveled in the fact that for once he wasn't confined to his ship. Maybe Luke was right. Maybe he did need this. He took another drink of his ale.

Whatever tomorrow held, he decided he wasn't going to think about it tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

Mara Jade arrived back on Coruscant as the sun set beyond the twin peaks of the Minarai Mountains. Though the mountains now paled in comparison to the skyscrapers that covered the majority of the planet, they served as a reminder of the mysteries buried below the bustling cityscape.

The _Jade Shadow_ berthed in its usual spot, housed in the main hangar of the Jedi Temple. The spot had been vacant for far too long. Responding to a call from an old friend, Talon Karrde, had kept Mara fully occupied and in a more distant reach of the galaxy for almost a month. While she didn't regret the chance to assist the old smuggler, she had found herself more than ready to get back home to her family and her next mission.

Before the landing ramp had reached the ground, she felt Luke's presence outside the ship. Mara found herself grinning eagerly. _After all these years, Farmboy still has that effect on me._ As she rose from the cockpit, she grabbed her belongings stashed behind her in a worn bag that had seen far too many adventures and slung it casually over her shoulder. Her lightsaber swung from her clip on her belt as she stood. Wiping a hand down the wrinkles in her simple jumpsuit, she headed to the ramp.

Luke Skywalker stood in the hanger looking far younger than his years and trials demanded. His eyes twinkled at the sight of Mara's emergence from her prized ship. As she stepped down the ramp, he stepped forward to embrace her. He slipped both arms around her body and pressed his lips against hers. They relished the moment for several seconds, oblivious to anything else in the galaxy. Two young apprentices peered from across the wide expanse of the hangar and snickered at the rare glimpse of public affection between their Jedi Masters.

At last, Luke pulled away and looked into her fiery green emerald eyes. Those eyes now returned his longing, though, he recalled with amusement, they had once came after him with a vengeance on behalf of the Emperor. Mara gave him a charming smile, snapping him out of his temporary reverie. "Miss me, Farmboy?"

A smile blossomed on Luke's face at the question. Mara always was the tough guy, the one with the snarky comments. However, that question had become somewhat of an inside joke between them.

"Always, my love. Welcome home." He leaned forward to kiss her once more before they turned and walked towards the distant door, hand in hand. As they walked, the conversation turned back to business. "How are things with Karrde?"

Mara took a heavy breath before recounting her story. "H'sishi has been recovered, and came back with some interesting information Karrde found rather valuable. I enjoyed being able to help out. It was like being a part of the gang again. Very un-Jedi like." Mara chuckled. "I did owe them one though. Both of them. The first time H'sishi had saved my skin was back on Torpris and without Karrde, I would have been lost after Palpatine's death."

Luke nodded, recalling Mara's old friendship with both of them. "What exactly did H'sishi get herself into? What did she find?"

Mara turned to look him in the face and cocked an amused eyebrow up. "Anxious to get to the good part, eh? Alright." Mara paused as the door to the hangar receded and inviting light from the temple flooded towards them, beckoning them in. As twilight settled upon the planet and the young ones were ushered towards their quarters for meditation and rest, the temple took on a very serene and subdued tone. Coruscant bustled with constant life all throughout the day and night, but the temple housed an evening peace that Mara found quite welcoming. Truly, it was home. The Skywalkers continued to their small apartment that served as their temple quarters as Mara weaved her story.

"H'sishi was sent to investigate a rumor that some wild technology was being developed and circulated into some private armies for some of the more notorious criminals, namely, the Hutts. We're talking technology that a society conspicuously absent of sophisticated scientists should be coming up with. Namely, advances in bioengineering. Karrde chose her specifically for the assignment since she's a Togorian and the rumors were traced back to her home planet of Togoria. Karrde needed someone who fit in, especially with their ties to the Mandalorians. Any other agent would have been spotted amidst two races that pride themselves on churning out first-rate hunters." She flicked a red strand of hair from her face as she continued. "Anyway, what she found was group so heavily shrouded in secrets that the most she could get was infiltration into their associates that do their shipping off-world. Something is definitely going on there, but it's not native to Togoria or the Hutts. I think someone simply set up shop on a distant world to be under the radar."

Luke contemplated the story and furrowed his brow in thought. "So shrouded that H'sishi didn't get anything solid on them?"

Mara smiled and reached down into one of the pockets of her jumpsuit. "I wouldn't say she left empty handed. She found this." She pulled her hand out of her pocket and handed Luke a small piece of manufactured metal. He stopped in the hallway and turned it over in his hand. "Karrde insisted I take it, hoping maybe I could find some more information. I think H'sishi was ready to be rid of it, honestly."

Small and metallic, it gleamed malevolently in the light. Its emblem was foreign to him. It certainly wasn't anything belonging to a machine or group he was familiar with. In fact, it was alarmingly alien in design.

Luke looked up into Mara's eyes. "What is it?"

"I don't know. No one does. But I intend to find out." She pointed at the piece in his hand. "Look at it again."

Luke turned it over again and a small imprint caught his eye. Peering closely, he read the print. "Dominion, Coruscant." He met Mara's gaze again, confused.

"Whatever it's from," she said, "it's here."


	5. Chapter 5

It was on rare occasion that most the Jedi Masters were gathered on Coruscant at once. After stowing her bag in their apartment and changing into a fresh set of clothes, Mara had Luke brief her on the events that had occurred while she was gone. She was anxious to get the finer details on the distressing news concerning the Horns.

The Jedi had agreed to convene in the high council tower for an emergency meeting. Corran, along with Kyp, Cilghal and Luke had been working for new leads on the kidnapping case, but had yet to discover any solid leads. Every clue seemed to follow the path of the strange young woman they had briefly captured yesterday- straight into nothingness, evanescing into the shadows. Even the underground labyrinth they had captured her in was decomposing along with its secrets.

Corran sat in silence with his head lowered, one hand rubbing the bridge of his nose. He looked tired and miserable. Kyp sat on the other side of the room and nursed a glass of some sort of juice that gave the air a slight, spicy smell. Cilghal's bulbous eyes took in the Skywalkers as they entered the room. Her webbed hands were folded patiently in her lap. Mirax would have joined them, but was still busy trying to map the tunnels that had been drilled in the mountain below the temple that had allowed the young, mysterious woman to make her escape.

The sun had set on the second day following Jysella's kidnapping. Corran and Mirex grew more restless and weary with each hour. In the waning remnants of natural light, Coruscant bustled endlessly outside. City lights from a million sources twinkled through the viewport.

With those involved finally gathered in the room, Mara started the discussion. She quickly briefed the other four on her mission before returning the subject to Jysella's abduction. "So how did you determine that the woman you tracked yesterday was involved with the kidnapping?" asked Mara. Her question was directed at the sullen Corran. Even with the description of events Luke had provided on the way up, she still needed some details ironed out before she would be able to assist in the investigation.

"More a hunch than anything. Her clothing, or armor, whatever it was, reminded me enough of the thing that took Jysella that I decided to pursue her," said Corran. He had lifted his head to look at Mara and now wrung his hands in a nervous gesture. He looked as if he hadn't slept since the incident.

"At that point we were ready for any lead," Kyp said, taking over. "We had been searching the lower levels of Coruscant beneath the Horn apartment building for several hours." As he spoke, he leaned informally in his simple chair, one leg balanced on the other. "Her clothing was, as Corran said, eerily similar to what Jysella's abductor wore, and once she took off at a sprint, we felt we had our guilty party. Or at least someone who a tie to them, at any rate."

"And we were correct," finished Luke. He turned to regard Mara. The Skywalkers had taken seats next to each other in the half circle between Corran and Kyp. "Though she didn't give us much to go on before her rescuer destroyed half of the lower level of the temple and disappeared into the mountain. The tunnels seem to weave through the entire mountain the temple sits on."

Mara nodded, thinking. "That's a mystery in itself. How did that thing mange to carve its way through a _mountain_ underneath our noses?"

Unable to sit anymore, Corran thrust himself up out of his seat and began to pace. "The young woman spoke of a female in charge. '_She has her_, _you're falling for her game_,' she said. She also spoke of a game, a cycle. That means that this has happened before." Corran stopped in front of Kyp. "There was nothing on the holonet? No news? Your research yielded no results at all?"

Kyp snorted. He had helped Tionne and Cilghal comb the library archives and holonet for leads. "Quite the opposite. There are millions of unsolved cases out there. Many involved strange cases of kidnappings with no leads. Trillions of people live on Coruscant and lots fly off the radar each year for all sorts of reasons. Additionally, there is no mention of any separate, subterranean metropolis that's been built underground. Coruscant built up and never looked back down. Either someone went to great lengths to keep it secret or went through the trouble of erasing any record. My hunch is the latter, but I don't have proof of it. We could spend an eternity trying to map the lower levels. Either way, there we are," Kyp gestured dismissively with one hand. "Back to no leads."

Cilghal shifted in her seat and quickly added reassurance. "But we are working, Corran. Even now, Tionne is looking at each missing person case, one by one. I am sure we will find a theme, a link to Jysella."

Corran sighed heavily, frustrated at the idea of having to wait. Suddenly, his comlink chimed. Wasting no time, he yanked it free from his belt on his green Jedi robes and hit the button. "This is Corran."

"Corran, it's Mirax," came the voice on the other end. "Get down here to the damaged tunnel levels. I think we found something."

The group of Jedi made record time to the scene of destruction. Carefully making their way through the gaping hole in the floor, they wound their way through to find Mirax bathed in a temporary floodlight at the end of the way. Several younger Jedi still assisted in the search for clues. Dirty walls and floors were combed for leads. The dank air smelled heavy and unpleasant.

At the sound of their arrival, Mirax turned. Without preamble, she handed an object to Corran. Mara came around to stand by Mirax's side. She peered into the palm of Corran's outstretched hand. A small, dirty emblem shone in the bright light. Smooth and metallic, the object had to be shifted in the light for the wording to be legible. Mara gasped, "Wait a minute!" All eyes turned to her as she groped in her pocket. Her slender hand reappeared with an object constructed in a similar metal, one that H'sishi went through many trials to obtain. She held it in her palm next to Corran's. "This is too rare to be a coincidence. These metals, these emblems…"

Corran nodded once, firmly in agreement. He quickly recalled the short summary Mara had given of her mission. At the time, he was distracted and eager to return to the subject of his daughter. Suddenly, the details rushed together in alarming clarity. "Advanced technology, as in these metal parts we've never seen before and bioengineering. It's making sense now; no one should be as fast as that woman we barely managed to catch yesterday. But why…" Corran's voice caught in his throat. He couldn't ask what that meant for Jysella. Mirax stepped forward and embraced her husband in a tight hug. She buried her face into his chest.

Mara turned to Kyp. "Time to revamp the search. Now we at least have a name to go off of: _Dominion_. Ring any bells?"

Kyp shook his head. "Time to inquire of the holonet," he said reluctantly. He looked around the circle of faces. When they looked at him expectantly, he sighed, momentarily defeated. "How is it that I get research duty again? Someday I'll learn to keep my mouth shut." Taking one last look at Corran and Mirax, he set off for the library and archives.

"I suggest we take our own approach," Mara said, turning to Luke. "I have a lead I'd like to look into. Call it another hunch."

Luke nodded. "I've been looking forward to working with you at my side again." As they walked back towards the temple at a brisk pace, Luke smiled and took her hand. "You always arrange the strangest dates."

Mara rolled her eyes. "Stow it, Farmboy."


	6. Chapter 6

Jysella Horn awoke to the deepest darkness she had ever encountered.

The air smelled damp and pungent. A _drip drip_ echoed through the room she was in. She stirred and discovered she rested on something soft. She looked around urgently, trying to orient herself in the darkness. Memories of her kidnapping crashed back into her consciousness and suddenly, she went from wary to terrified. Tears formed in her eyes and she felt her throat begin to close.

"_Mom! Dad!" _she screamed between sobs. Her arms shook beneath her as she pushed herself up. "_Mommyyyy!"_

Somewhere behind her, a door creaked. Sickly, artificial light crawled in through the opening. Jysella turned to face it. A small, burning hope inside her furiously longed for the person on the other side to be one of her parents, here to take her home.

Instead, she found looming over her an unfamiliar lady with long, graying hair and a frayed gray tunic. A strange symbol adorned the outfit on her upper left shoulder. She looked as if she had lived in a land long forgotten for far too long. Holes in her boots betrayed their age. She locked eyes with Jysella and smiled, but her cold eyes suggested she was anything but compassionate.

Jysella shuddered and felt hot tears run down her cheeks uncontrollably.

"Now, now, there's no need for that," she said. Keeping her eyes on Jysella, the woman entered the room with a forced grace and sat at the end of the cot. Jysella sprung up and away from her, pressing herself to the wall. The room was much smaller than Jysella had anticipated.

Jysella reached inside herself and tried to be brave. "I want to go home! I want my Daddy!"

The woman smiled that same, fake smile. "My dear, this IS your home. And don't you worry. I expect your father will be along shortly. We are expecting him, after all." Jysella stood pressed to the wall, confused and shocked. What in the galaxy was this woman talking about?

Before Jysella could muster a retort, the woman turned to face the open door. Small footsteps could be heard outside, stopping just short of the entrance. With one hand, the woman beckoned the new arrival forward. Jysella noticed sharp, dirty nails on the end of the woman's hand and cringed, wishing she could melt away and disappear through the cracks in the old wall.

A small girl entered the room. Jysella noticed she couldn't be any older than she was. Her shoulder length blonde hair was unkempt and the state of her clothing matched the woman's. She kept her face pointed to the floor and graced the older woman with a slight, clumsy bow. "What news do you bring?" demanded the woman.

The girl brought her face up and stole a glance at Jysella. Her eyes were clear, bright and somehow very wrong. They were wide and deep as any ocean abyss. And yet, they were almost glowing. Jysella thought for sure she was trapped in a nightmare.

The girl refocused on the woman. "My sisters and I dropped the pieces you asked us to. The Jedi have both of them now."

The woman grinned. This time, it was simultaneously more sincere and more ominous. "Very good, my sweet child," she crooned. "Take Fifty-Three back to the upper levels. I want to know when they arrive. When they come in fighting, take any means necessary to direct them to where I need them."

Jysella watched the scene in silence, wondering what a "fifty-three" was. Her answer soon came with heavy footfalls coming in their direction. As the steps grew closer, a giant shadow gradually blocked the light that streamed in through the open door. A misshapen beast of a man-like figure formed. Though Jysella could not see the being itself, her heart thudded wildly in her chest, panicked. The thing was enormous and bulky. The fuzzy shadow of something sharp and nasty filled the space where its shadow arm ended. A smell even worse than the pungent, stagnant water in her small space filled the chamber. It was sweet and awful, like meat that had been left out far too long. Jysella felt bile rise and thought she might throw up.

The girl with the strange eyes gave the woman one more quick bow before turning towards the beast. Jysella wanted to run after her, grab her, keep her from falling into its grasp, but she was pinned in place by her own fear.

"C'mon, Fifty-Three," said the girl. Jysella watched the shadows, mesmerized and terrified as she watched the girl climb onto the creature's back, grasping some sort of loops in its armor. The beast waited for her to scramble onto his back. It turned, and its shadow revealed a slouch. It stood as if broken. After the girl was secured, it lumbered off, leaving Jysella alone with the woman once more.

Still watching the shadow recede, Jysella felt the gaze of the woman's stare return to her face.

"We will consider that your first introduction to your new home for now. Within days, I will have your father and my army will be that much closer to complete. I expect you to begin to accept your new family. Your treatments will be easier if you do not resist." The woman stood and stared down at Jysella.

Jysella found her voice, angered by the idea that her father might come to harm. "You can't catch my dad! He's a Jedi, and he will be able to save me from you! You won't win! You're an evil person, I know it!"

The woman's eye's sparked with a glint of fire. "This city is all that matters for you now. We survived Palpatine and we survived civil war. Dominion will thrive again and I will be its queen." Her face twisted into a vision of hate. "After I am done with you, you will see to my everlasting reign _personally_." The woman turned away and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

"No, please!" screamed Jysella. She sprinted to the door and beat on it with her fists. "Let me out!" Her fists were small, but she was certain that witch of a lady could hear her. However, no answer to her plea returned. Slowly, her strength drained from her and she sagged to the floor. Her sobs returned and she buried her small face into her arms.

Her Force powers were limited, but she did her best to focus her thoughts out beyond the darkness. "_Dad,"_ she sent. "_Dad, where are you?"_


	7. Chapter 7

Corran awoke with a start, heart pounding. A cold sweat drenched his neck and chest. Jysella's mental plea echoed through his brain, a nightmare that was all too real.

He sat up in bed and wished the situation was only a dream. From her outcry in the Force, Corran sensed Jysella was terrified, yet unharmed. More importantly, he keenly sensed her presence for a single, precious moment.

She was on Coruscant, far beneath the normal hustle and bustle of the city. Memories of musty, underground smells and dank water that were Jysella's, not his own, lingered in his mind. Her terror originated from somewhere deep, though not far from the Jedi Temple. All this time, and his daughter had not even left this side of the planet!

Corran cast a glance at his sleeping wife. Her gentle features were barely visible in the darkness of night. He could wake her, organize a team, create a plan to retrieve his daughter…

_No_.

It had to be done now. Jysella wasn't terribly far, but her danger was imminent. Something dreadful was going to happen soon and he had a better chance of moving swiftly and unnoticed if he went now, alone.

Mirax was going to be furious.

Moving silently, Corran slipped into some clothing and attached his lightsaber to his belt. Before leaving the apartment, he scribed a quick message on a piece of flimsi.

_Will be home soon with Jysella._

Corran lingered for a moment, staring at the message. There was so much more he could say, so many apologies and explanations he would have to provide later. _If there was a later…._

Corran shook his head, clearing the thought. His only concern right now was getting Jysella home. Silently, he left home in the cover of darkness. The door _swooshed_ with a whisper as he departed, leaving Mirax in bed, peacefully none the wiser.


	8. Chapter 8

Time was typically irrelevant on Coruscant. Nights were as busy as days, lights continued to blaze in the absence of sunlight, and the traffic never ceased. However, it seemed, the mortal beings that inhabited the world still needed a time to sleep.

Kyp yawned and pondered these things as he watched the speeder lights go by outside the temple library window. He had occupied this particular library terminal for several hours now. Jedi apprentices had come and gone earlier in the evening, offering Kyp a polite bow as they passed as customary for greeting a Jedi master. However, as the early morning hours arrived, those using the library thinned in numbers. At first, Kyp had welcomed the quiet and stillness. Now, weariness crept upon him.

Records and news sources had become redundantly unhelpful. He preferred a more immediate, active sort of solution and researching had proved to effectively drain him. Turning the library terminal off, he rose to retire to his temple quarters for the night.

A quick blur of green robes swiftly moving past the archway to the archives caught his eye.

Kyp narrowed his eyes, instantly alert. He moved with silent, graceful speed out of the library, barely catching sight of Corran as he urgently rounded the corner on the other side of the main hall. Kyp followed with intent haste. Clearly, the Corellian had something in mind. Knowing Corellians, including his good friend Han Solo, Kyp knew it had to be something hard-headed and reckless.

And, more importantly, probably something closer to Kyp's idea of fun.

Closing down his own presence in the Force to avoid detection, Kyp followed the older Jedi at top speed through the winding corridors of the Jedi temple. Finally, Corran's dash ended at the hanger. The Corellian sprinted for a fast, sturdy speeder that lay parked on the far side. Hopping in and ignoring the safety restraints, he started the speeder with expert speed and hit the accelerator, gunning for lanes of Coruscant traffic.

Kyp wasn't going to let this end here. Calling on the Force for super-human speed, he hit the ground running and cleared the expanse of the hanger in a matter of seconds. Nearing the edge of the temple hangar, he called on the Force again for a powerful, telekinetic push that launched him from the ground and into the air, soaring the several meters across the gap from ground to Corran's speeder, a thousand meter drop into the underworld of the city beneath him. Kyp landed solidly in the middle of the speeder much to Corran's surprise and immediate dismay.

Corran let loose a Corellian curse that Kyp had only heard used a few times before due to its profanity. The speeder lurched downwards as Kyp landed on top of it. Corran had to perform some frantic maneuvering to get it level again. Another larger speeder headed in the opposite direction honked madly as the driver shook his fist at the Jedi. If Corran hadn't straightened them out when he did, the speeder would have crashed into the other.

"What do you think you're doing?" Corran demanded while making the last few corrections to the speeder's path.

"That's what I came to ask you," Kyp replied, settling into the passenger seat of the speeder. "Shouldn't someone your age be asleep by now?"

Corran scowled at Kyp. "Get out of here. I don't remember inviting you."

"I don't think so," said Kyp. "You have a lead. I intend on joining you. Any sort of action beats the hell out of research. Besides, you could probably use someone with telekinesis."

Corran shot him a mischievous smirk. "I don't know, I feel like I've done just fine all these years without it. And who needs TK when you have good old fashioned repulsors?"

Kyp regarded Corran with an arched, questioning eyebrow when the Corellian answered his unspoken question by forcing the speeder controls straight down, plummeting the speeder into a straight, downward fall. Kyp felt his stomach try to crawl out of his esophagus as they fell faster than dead mynocks through the maze of traffic, bridges, pipes and scaffolding into the deepest darkness that marked the lowest levels of Coruscant. Without time to don his restraints, Kyp nearly flew straight out of the vehicle. He had to use the Force to keep himself in place. After what felt like an eternity of flying straight down, Corran reactivated the speeder repulsors and expertly leveled out just in time before they became the latest layer of goo on the floor of the grimy under city. Racing the speeder along dark alley ways, Corran drove for several kilometers into the heart of the darkness.

Much time had passed by when Corran suddenly stopped the speeder and pulled to the side of a dank alley. Kyp estimated the sun should have been rising by now. However, the two Jedi were so deep in the city no sunlight was able to penetrate. These were the lowest levels, the most dangerous. Unmentionable creatures and evils lurked here and only the craziest or the most desperate sought out the deep shadows of the Coruscant underworld. As the speeder made a whirring cool down hum, a distant spice addict peered at them with wild eyes from a long defunct lift shaft meters down the alley way. Even the mynocks avoided this space, preferring instead to fly amongst the skyscrapers above.

Corran had parked the speeder near a heaped mound of trash and the Jedi exited the vehicle. Kyp was instantly alert, wary eyes scanning the surroundings, one hand hovering over the lightsaber that hung from his belt. Corran turned his attention to the speeder. Finding an accessible, waded tarp with only a few holes in the trash heap, he pulled and shook the battered fabric free before draping it over the speeder. He hoped the bit of camouflage would save the vehicle and make the return to the surface easy, though part of him doubted the speeder would remain in one piece the second he turned his back.

Corran joined Kyp in his watchful, guarding position a short distance away. For a moment, both men considered their surroundings.

The old spice addict lurking in the distance was too strung out to pose a threat to anyone but himself. Sensing no immediate danger, Corran broke the silence. "You need to go home, Kyp. I intend to do this on my own. One Jedi is less conspicuous than two, especially when you are involved."

Kyp sighed and shook his head. "Always the Corellian. Look, I know we aren't on the best terms, but if you think I'm just going walk home from here, you better think again. Someone, or something powerful was able to break in and kidnap Jysella in the first place and there's no telling when it will strike again." Kyp turned and gave Corran a mean, sideways grin. "And let's be honest, if you want raw talent, I'm the best teammate you could hope for. Besides, I think I owe you some pain for that speeder ride where you tried to make me revisit my last meal."

Corran felt his mouth go sour. He wasn't going to be able to force Kyp to leave. And the younger man did have a point: as incessantly irritating as he was, he could be potentially helpful. Corran's face twisted in disgusted resignation. "Fine. But stay out of the way, or so help me, I'll make you a permanent resident of this place. I will get my daughter back and I'll be damned if your little reckless antics ruin my rescue."

With that, Corran turned away sharply and strode into the darkness beyond.

Kyp watched him for a few paces, wondering what he was doing out here with Corellian. He loathed Corran's company as much as Corran loathed his. However, if this escapade ended his obligation to the library , he supposed he could deal with a few hours of discomfort. Hand still cautiously over his weapon, Kyp made his way after the Corellian Jedi.


	9. Chapter 9

On a planet of billions of people, demand for goods runs high. When that same densely populate planet is also the central hub of the galaxy and home to some of the wealthy individuals for light years around, that demand is even higher. Any notable tradesman or company worth their weight in credits did business on Coruscant. As such, it made sense that the grandest trade expos and auctions should be located nearest the highest bidders.

On this day, Coruscant's largest trade center was dressed in spectacular lights and grandeur for the most exclusive gala of the year. The event not only allowed the rich to mingle and compete in the unspoken contest of who could be the gaudiest, but allowed for the finest dealers to pedal their over the top wares. Displays filled the enormous chamber with everything from luxury liners to fine art to taxidermy wampas, forever frozen in threatening poses with their large arms up over their heads. Agents discussed big ticket Coruscant real estate. Beautiful Twi'lek women modeled jewels in every dazzling color and shape. A Bothan in a suit that most likely cost more than the Emperor's cloning project negotiated the price of a superfluous red landspeeder with a mustachioed gentleman smoking an exotic cigarra.

The show of affluence at this particular gathering, thought Luke, made Lando seem humbly modest in comparison.

He and Mara stood in the middle of the swirling crowds. Mara was dressed in a strapless emerald green gown that highlighted her vivid green eyes. Intricate gold jewelry dangled from her ears and from around her neck. Though her hair was dyed a darker color and her makeup served to disguise her features, she was still extremely lovely. Her poise suggested she was every bit as much of the elite crowd as those who milled around her. Luke was awed by her effortless grace and was suddenly very self conscious of his social discomfort. Though dressed the part in a sharp suit, he would never fully be able to drop his farming origins and don such an aristocratic air. In addition a change in hair color and some concealing makeup himself, Luke also used the Force to disguise their appearance and make them a very forgettable couple. Though he didn't imagine anyone would expect Jedi to mingle in a place like this, he didn't want to chance being recognized. He hoped his awkwardness wouldn't destroy the illusion he was working so hard to create.

Sensing his thoughts, Mara looped her arm through his and gave him a reassuring squeeze. She leaned in close and brought her mouth to his ear. "Don't worry. Just follow my lead and whatever you do, don't bid on anything. Especially that wampa that I know you've had your eye on."

Luke turned to defend himself and saw a mischievous twinkle in her eye. He sighed and gave her a smile. "It's okay. As delightful as it is, it would never go with the apartment décor." Luke chuckled at the very thought of having something as huge and obnoxious as that sitting awkwardly in the center of their modest quarters. "On a more serious note though, are you sure we're going to find anything here?"

Her arm still looped through his, Mara pulled him forward and began to make her way through the extravagance. She nodded as she made her way slowly through the masses. "Trust me. We're looking for bioengineering technology, a city that doesn't seem to exist and possibly a kidnapping trade all rolled into one big credit conspiracy. No one is going to discuss an illegal exploit with a couple of Jedi. However, dealers have a funny way of being extra helpful and forthcoming when you have an excessive amount of credits in your pocket, and a scheme like this costs a lot of money."

Luke nodded, following her logic. They knew this place was somewhere on Coruscant and following the shipping and trade link made the most sense. Frankly, he was ready to find something solid. His anxiety grew, especially after Corran and Kyp had disappeared from the temple grounds very early this morning with no word and no warning. He feared that this situation was quickly escalating and that someone out there had the upper hand on the Jedi.

Mara gave his arm another squeeze and Luke refocused his thoughts. He reached out in the Force, searching those presences around him while maintaining his illusion of a distorted appearance. Mara's own Force perception enhanced his, and together they were more sensitive to the emotions that swirled around them. Pride, haughtiness, assuredness in a deal, confidence in appearance, jealousy of another's shoes…

And then nervousness, uncertainty, frustration, even guilt. The emotions were drowning in one of the finest drinks money could buy.

A lovely, slender woman in silky hues of blue stood to the far side of the room with a glass of Whyren's Reserve in hand. No more than thirty years of age, her voice projected strength and a false confidence that certainly was not reflected in her Force presence. A Hutt with an obesity that could have rivaled Jabba's sat on a hoversled in front of her, speaking softly to a translator droid that relayed a message to the woman in blue.

Luke heightened his senses in the Force and caught the tail end of the conversation.

"….we'll be fine as long as you keep your vaping shipping ships to the lowest levels," said the woman. "Their presence at the skyline is hurting _my_ business. Do you know how hard it is to explain to potential investors why I've got Hutt ships hovering around an apartment building? I don't know who your client is, but I expect them to stay out of my way." The woman cast a nervous glance around her. Luke and Mara were both carefully interested in an exotic pet display in the opposite direction.

The Hutt responded and the translator droid spoke in low tones to the woman.

"No, our deals are separate. You work with her, not me, and I need you out of my hair. I don't care it's the same building. If you want to keep this low key, you tell your pilots to stick to the plan. And maybe you should find someone with a brain bigger than a Gamorrean's to do the work," said the woman in blue. She was trying very hard to maintain the forced smile on her face. "I think we're done here."

The Hutt didn't seem happy, but agreed to return to the mill of the crowd. The woman in blue did her best to compose herself, found a new glass of Whyren's, and immediately engaged a nearby wealthy woman with a sales pitch.

Luke tore his gaze away from the Nexu kitten he and Mara were feigning interest in. He turned to look into Mara's eyes and she returned his gaze with a slight nod. This woman in blue might be a place to start asking questions. They turned, arm in arm, to walk closer.

The woman in question was working very hard to sell the elder, wealthy woman in front of her on some sort of real estate investment.

Mara edged closer, Luke in tow, and again took an artificial interest in a nearby display of Alderaanian fruits which had been exceedingly hard to find since the planet's destruction. Using the Force to bolster her natural hearing, she eavesdropped on the conversation once more. Luke sensed her intent and followed her lead.

"…original archways and beautiful detail!" The woman in blue had become very animated and gestured with her hands. This presentation was much different than the one she had displayed with the Hutt. Her oversized ring occasionally clinked against the crystal of her whiskey glass as she spoke with enthusiasm for her product. "Additionally, the entire building still has pre-war Sittana marble features! You know how difficult it can be to find these days and the attention to detail is what Coruscant residents want in a home. Once it's renovated to its original state, the profits will be _unimaginable_.This is a golden chance to an investor in Coruscanti history and high style living." The woman in blue finished grandly with large smile.

The older woman considered the proposal, bejeweled index finger on her chin. She narrowed her eyes as she thought. "This particular building sounds familiar." She tapped her index finger on her chin twice before her eyes widened. "Ah! Yes. This is the vacant residential building near the Justice Center. How is it that this building is in such a prominent area and still vacant, hmmm?"

That got Mara's attention. She cast a careful glance at Luke. His eyes held the same concern. The Justice Center was right next to the Jedi Temple Precinct. A vacant location there would be an excellent place to hunker down low if you wanted to steal a Jedi child.

A third gala attendee approached the women and slid up next to the older woman. "I heard from a previous investor that the building was a loss. Apparently the construction crews kept abandoning the project."

The woman in blue shifted uncomfortably and took a long sip of Whyren's. She seemed to use the drink as an excuse to buy some time to think. She cleared her throat before piping up. "A simple misunderstanding, to be sure. They believed they saw some silly nonsense that wasn't there."

The older woman's eyes widened. "Is it true then that it's haunted?"

"IT'S NOT HAUNTED." The loud, knee jerk reaction from the woman in blue startled not only both of the people in front of her, but silenced half of the crowd around them.

Trying to recover herself, the woman in blue stammered, "What I mean to say is, it's an old building with a lot of history. Urban legends. Nothing actually serious, of course…"

The man and the woman before her looked at each other once, raised eyebrows, and then turned to leave.

"Wait!" The woman in blue pleaded. "This is a once in lifetime opport- awww forget it," she finished lamely. The man and woman had already blended back in with the crowd. With a heavy sigh, she turned to refill her glass from the bottle of Whyren's sitting on the table nearby.

Mara and Luke took the opportunity to approach the woman. "Good evening," said Mara as she strolled up.

The woman in blue was startled by being approached. She jumped and spilled a bit of the whiskey on the table. "Oh! Um, good evening!"

"Pardon our intrusion, but we couldn't help but overhear your fabulous offer. Would you please tell us some more about this investment opportunity?"

The woman looked at Mara wide eyed for a moment. However, she then narrowed her eyes in suspicion and looked at Mara harder. "I see," she started, cautiously. "Madam, you seem familiar somehow. Have we spoken on this opportunity before?"

Luke doubled his efforts to blur their identities through the Force, but it was too late.

The woman in blue seemed confused, suspicious. In the Force, Luke felt her mind close up tight around her emotions and secrets. "I'm sorry, I should be going," she said. She gave a polite bow and turned to leave.

Or tried to, anyway. Mara placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around. The woman in blue looked surprised, then resolution and a firmness emanated from her in the Force. She was preparing to turn them away again. Before she could speak, Luke reached out and took the bottle of Whyren's from her. The woman's attitude suddenly went from resolved to indignant.

"Oh c'mon, there's no need for that. Look, I'm real sorry folks, but this is a no and that's final. Now, I'd appreciate that bottle back…"

Mara interrupted by taking the woman by the arm, twisting it smoothly in a motion to swift to attract any unwanted attention, and herded the woman deftly to the nearest exit. The woman emitted a yelp but was still too startled to really struggle. Mara intended to get her out before the shock wore off. Luke followed behind, bottle still in hand, using the Force to mask the struggle.

Mara found entered a private room and shut the door behind the three of them. Lights turned on automatically to reveal a posh, yet completely empty meeting room. Luke activated the lock on the door and was relieved to find that their entrance was the only way in or out.

The woman pulled away from Mara and staggered to the other side of the room. She stood unsure, wide eyed and nervous. "Please, I don't want any trouble."

"And you won't find any," Mara reassured. "Consider this both an intervention and a friendly meeting. You should probably lay off the Whyren's. It's not helping your sales pitch. Additionally, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

The woman narrowed her eyes at Mara, then glanced at Luke. Her crystal glass was still in her hand, though it looked as if a fair amount had spilled on the struggle to the private room. Finally, she spoke again. "This is only my third glass of Whyren's. I don't usually drink like this either… I just have had a hard time… wait, why am I explaining myself to you?" She paused to consider for a moment. "Are you people cops? Because having a few drinks and investing in real estate is not illeg-"

"We're not cops," Mara replied shortly. Luke walked up next to his wife and pulled aside his formal jacket, revealing his lightsaber hanging at his belt. Pulling the Jedi card was something he typically tried to avoid, but this woman was on the defensive and he wasn't sure how much longer this space would remain private. At the sight of the weapon, understanding dawned on the woman in blue's face. Her presence in the Force shimmered in shock, then delight. Jedi numbers in the galaxy were still few enough that the chances of the average citizen meeting one, much less two Jedi, was like winning the big pot at the Umgullian Blob Races.

She immediately seemed to forgot her situation and exchanged her suspicion and defensiveness for a childish enthusiasm. "Jedi!" she squealed. "You're Jedi! Oh, this is fabulous, my friends are never going to believe this." She began to shake in her chair and continued speaking breathlessly in unbridled excitement. " Just the other day I had mentioned how neat it would be now that I was on Coruscant to meet a Jedi Knight and my friends were like "don't be silly they just don't walk up to people and sign autographs" but I stayed optimistic anyway and I told them-"

Luke raised his hands pleadingly. "Please, we don't have much time. May we ask you a few questions?"

"Can you pose for a holo?" she responded, pulling out a recording device in a pocket that was concealed in her gown.

"What's your name?" inquired Mara, ignoring the question.

"Amia," she responded, fiddling with the device. "Amia Vellan. Hang on, I've almost got this. Can I get one where I'm standing in between you guys?"

Mara rolled her eyes before continuing her inquisition. "Why do people say your building is haunted? What's going on there?"

That question got Ms. Vellan to focus. She placed the recorder in her lap as she considered the question, then looked away wistfully with a shake of her head. "It's strange," she began. "I received word that I had inherited the building a few months ago. Came from a great aunt, or something like that. She stopped being seen one day and after three decades they finally pronounced her gone for good. I never knew her. I was cautioned that the old building needed several repairs, but seeing as how it was Coruscant real estate, I jumped on the opportunity. I had even saved up enough money to begin the renovations."

Mara pulled up a chair and sat in front of Amia. Luke pulled up his own seat and sat next to Mara.

Amia continued, "I hired a company to do the work. I opted to forgo construction droids because I figured a living touch would add that special something, you know? The craftsmanship in the place is phenomenal. A shame what time and neglect will do. Five thousand upscale apartments in the top levels, all originally constructed in glorious Old Republic aesthetics, rotting in dust, leaks and damages. Most of the original furniture is still there, too! I was in love with the place and had great visions for a total restoration. And rent. I had great plans for lots of rent money coming in." Vellan paused her story to finish off what remained of the Whyren's in her glass. "The construction company was there four days. Barely even stirred the dust in the majority of the rooms. The workers stopped on the fourth afternoon and left, even though their supervisor yelled at them something awful. A group of them kept spouting something about the "dark demons" that lived there. They had wide eyes and looked shaken. They wouldn't go back in to finish the job and I cancelled the contract."

"Demons," Mara repeated skeptically.

Vellan shrugged and reflected Mara's skepticism. "Trust me, that was my reaction too. I even went back in and searched the building after they left. I walked in there for hours, look the lift to every floor. You know what I found? Nothing but old building. Don't get me wrong, weird things happen. I mean, the floor creaks, the lights are not always reliable, but that's just because the place is old. I determined that they were just crazy, so I hired a second group to come in and finish."

"But," Luke started, sensing where this was going.

"But," Vellan repeated, "Then they said the same thing. This group said that on top of these dark beasts or whatever, they saw apparitions of little girls." She snorted as she said this, as if the ridiculousness of the situation was some sort of dark joke. "Again, I searched the building. I found nothing. I decided either the supernatural was avoiding me or this group was as crazy as the first."

"You searched the _whole_ building?" Mara inquired.

"Well, I only really own the top half. The lower levels…" Amia's sentence trailed off. Through the Force, the Jedi could sense her hesitance in talking about the lower half. "I don't go down there," she finished. "At this point, my money was dwindling. I decided to go with the droids. I bought as many as I could, which, admittedly, were not nearly enough, but I decided slow progress was better than none."

Luke and Mara let the subject of the lower levels go for the moment. "Okay. So you have droids actively working on the place. Have they uncovered anything unusual?" asked Luke.

Vellan shifted uncomfortably.

"Something happened to the droids too?" asked Mara.

With a sigh, she continued. "I can't explain this part. I started the droids on the lowest level apartments. At least, of the levels I own, anyway. Those apartments were in the most disrepair. I returned ten hours later and they had all been shut off. I powered them up again. By the next day they were off again. It's been like this for weeks now and hardly any work has been done. I can't find any physical evidence of anyone else there and yet the droids keeps shutting off. I'm starting to think the building itself is against me."

Luke leaned back in his chair. "Quite a mystery. Who did you say you inherited this place from again?"

Vellan played with her ring as she spoke. "A great aunt. From what I understand, she was some sort of scientist. Around the time the Old Republic fell, she disappeared along with most of the family wealth. She was very rich, and yet the money slowly faded away and her property fell into what it is now. I can't figure out what she spent it on. It certainly didn't go back in the property, I can tell you that."

"A scientist that disappeared when Palpatine rose to power," said Mara. "Sounds familiar."

Vellan sat up in her chair. "Don't get the wrong idea. If anything, I think she ran from Palpatine. She was part of some sort of group that opposed most government in general," she said. She paused and pursed her lips. Before she could open her mouth to continue, both Luke and Mara turned in their chairs to look at the door behind them. The determined and alert aura from the three beings beyond the door suggested security. No doubt they saw the two Jedi "encourage" Vellan to join them for an impromptu meeting.

"We've got company," said Luke. "Amia, care to join us? I can't help but believe that your situation may be linked to ours."

Amia gave Luke an enthusiastic smile. Before she could verbalize an agreement, the lock on the door was overridden and three uniformed officials walked in. "What's going on here?" demanded the leader. She was a tall, lean Selonian and not one you would carelessly take in a fight.

Before the Jedi could respond, Amia stood. "Uh, negotiating. Yep. Just business. As usual," she glanced at the Jedi. "We were just leaving, I believe?"

Luke nodded and they both stood. "Yes, we are done here."

The Selonian cocked her head, clearly unconvinced. "You appeared to be ushered here by force. We saw you struggle on the monitoring system."

Amia chuckled. "What can I say? They drive a hard bargain." With that, she strode forward and around the guards. The Selonian didn't move to block her. Luke and Mara glanced at each other and followed suit.

As the three left, the Selonian and her two back up officers watched them disappear back into the crowds. She looked around the room, then twitched her whiskers in disappointment. Not only did she not get a confrontation, but they didn't even leave any Whyren's behind. Shame.


	10. Chapter 10

Corran and Kyp didn't have to pick their way through the under city long before they arrived at a solid, vault like door. Easily four meters tall, it dwarfed the Jedi. Though dusty and dirty like everything else in this level of Coruscant, the door's surface under the grime was unmarred and clearly newer than the walls and structures around it.

The Force had led them here. If that wasn't enough, the symbol on the door matched the symbol on the small, metal emblem that Mara had kept in her pocket.

Wasting no time, Corran lit his lightsaber and delved it into the door.

Or, at least, it was supposed to delve. In theory.

What happened instead was the lightsaber did not burn through the metal. The blade sputtered a bit and warmed the metal, but nothing melted away and no progress was made.

Frustration began to burn through Corran. "You've got to be kidding me. This isn't cortosis, it isn't killing the blade, it's just not going through!"

Kyp took a different approach. He began to cut through the wall next to it. While the blade made some progress, it wasn't burning completely through. The walls here were much thicker than he had imagined, possibly more than two meters in depth.

Corran finally turned off his lightsaber. Kyp's silvery blade lit the underground area and gleamed hazily off the metal door. Giving up on the wall, he turned to consider Corran. Corran began to pace, thinking rapidly for a solution.

"There's got to be another way in…"

Suddenly, there was a shudder. Metal moaned from somewhere above and beyond. Immediately, Corran's lightsaber was lit again. He and Kyp turned to regard the darkness beyond them and moved closer together in a defensive position, lightsabers raised.

Seconds stretched on. The Jedi stood in silence except for the hum of their weapons.

With a fantastic screech, durasteel was shredded before the Jedi in the glow of their lightsabers. A massive being, fast moving and impossibly strong, charged forward towards the two men. Force enhanced reactions enabled the two Jedi to jump out of the way. The beast slammed into the vault door where the Jedi were standing moments before. Corran turned as he landed, and to his shock and horror, saw that the thing actually dented the metal.

"Sith spawn!" he spat. "Kyp, we need to get out of here!"

"I'm not arguing!" replied Kyp. As they prepared to sprint towards the darkness from where the beast sprang, a second appeared from the hole the first ripped in the durasteel. In the dim light, it turned its featureless face towards its prey. Both Jedi stopped cold in their tracks and formed up, back to back. Kyp raised his lightsaber to the new arrival as Corran held his weapon defensively towards the original threat.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Kyp.

As if on cue, the two monsters lunged up into a coordinated aerial attack. Again, the Jedi sprang out of the way. However, the Jedi were not what the beasts were aiming for. Using their supernatural strength and weight, the dropped like massive boulders, fists to the ground, cracking great fissures in the durasteel beneath them. The floor began to give way, crumbling to pieces. Their deed done, the monsters leaped up off of the remaining broken flooring, causing the walkway to disintegrate at an even more alarming rate, and then disappeared into the blackness as suddenly as they arrived.

Kyp somersaulted in a great leap away from the epicenter of the disaster, then sprinted across crumbling supports and used a Force enhanced jump to telekinetically launch himself onto a hanging platform. He caught the platform in a left-handed grip, his activated lightsaber still clutched in his right. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Corran struggle to stay above the devastation without a telekinetic advantage. However, it wasn't enough. The Corellian fell through the massive fissure and disappeared.

"Corran!" Kyp cried out. He reached out in the Force and found Corran's presence, in terror and still falling. Kyp tried to reach out and lift him out, but couldn't quite get a solid Force grip on him. Determined to save his companion, Kyp deactivated his lightsaber, swung his body towards the abyss, and let go of the platform. He completed half of a mid air back flip and dove in head first through the hole in the ground after Corran.

They plummeted amid tons of twisted durasteel and rock.

Using the Force to guide his decent, Kyp navigated the free fall avalanche and pulled Corran towards him. Lightsaber still activated, the Corellian slashed at pieces of debris that threatened to tumble into him. Kyp gradually closed the distance between them. Finally, he planted both feet against a falling chunk of metal a meter thick and launched himself towards Corran, catching one of his booted feet. Kyp then redirected all of his focus into stopping their free-fall. As he rapidly began slowing their decent, he created a Force bubble around them and pushed the debris away.

Corran glanced down and over his shoulder and to his horror saw approaching solid ground. "Slower, Kyp, slower-"

All too soon, the planet rushed up to meet them. Both Jedi landed on the ground in a tangle with enough force to knock the air out of their lungs. Despite the rough landing, Kyp held together the protective bubble above them as the last of the durasteel landed with lethal force around them, deflected from impaling them. As the last of the giant shards landed, Kyp rolled to his back, coughing, and stared up into the infinite darkness. Dust still lightly rained down on them.

Corran sat up shakily, trying to catch his breath. He ran through a mental checklist and determined he wasn't injured. He turned to Kyp. "Are you hurt?"

Kyp still lied on his back, gazing upwards. He paused to consider."No, nothing broken."

Corran nodded. The two men sat in silence for a moment. After catching a few breaths, Corran interrupted the quiet. "Thanks for coming after me."

"No problem," Kyp replied, raising one hand from the ground to point at Corran. "You owe me one."

Corran chuckled, despite their increasingly desperate situation. Adrenaline from a near death experience had his heartbeat quickened. "Let's figure out a way to get out of here so I have a chance to do so." He hauled himself to his feet and looked around. He heard Kyp do the same behind him.

Using lightsabers for illumination, they discovered they had landed on a great suspended catwalk. Kyp, silver blade held high, picked his way through the fallen debris to approach the handrail on the side. Peering over the edge, he couldn't see an end to the abyss. He shook his head at the enormity of the cavern before turning back around. Corran was bathed in the green light of his blade, trying to pierce the veil of darkness above and around them. "It's like there's no end to it."

Corran shifted his focus from his surroundings to the Force inside him instead. Eyes half closed in concentration, he searched for guidance and he called out mentally for Jysella.

She didn't answer. He tried not to read into that.

The Force whispered to him and he found a direction. Corran turned to Kyp. "Let's follow the catwalk this way."

Kyp consented with a nod. "Sounds good to me. I don't think we'll find a lift or a ladder any time soon."

Corran considered how long of a ladder that would have to be, bearing in mind their free-fall lasted almost a full minute, and decided he would much rather walk fifty kilometers in the dark then try to climb a distance of that length any day.

Together, they set forth on foot.


	11. Chapter 11

A nervous Amia Vellan paced near the large window of her apartment in her beloved ramshackle of a property. The building looked like any other Coruscant building from the outside thanks to the constant efforts of building maintenance droids that worked unnoticed all over the planet, ensuring that each enormous skyscraper was structurally sound. The government had an interest in making sure that nothing toppled over, especially in a district such as this. Vellan had always been grateful that the droids were a given, even without her direct financial sponsorship.

Inside of the building was a different story.

Though much smaller and shorter than the surrounding giants, the building still boasted several hundred stories. Sunlight did not reach the base of the structure. It was easy to overlook, so tucked in between the taller buildings that comprised the familiar sky line. Top story windows had a view that consisted of mostly neighboring structures and traffic, but precious sunlight did manage to stream in during certain times of the day. Vellan had managed to make this level perfectly livable; luxurious even, considering its size, but decay and neglect became more present as one rode the turbolift down.

Amia waited for Luke and Mara to arrive. After departing from the expo, they had agreed to meet at her building after ditching the formal wear. Amia had exchanged her formal blue gown for her favorite slacks and last year's designer top. She would have preferred to stay with the trends, but her financial abyss of a home had deprived her of her former chic glory. Surely the Jedi in their modest robes wouldn't even notice.

She sighed. _Jedi._ She had invited _Jedi_ here.

At first it seemed like a reasonable idea. Vellan had been so taken with meeting the famed Skywalkers that their request had flattered her. She was confident she could give them a tour without revealing anything.

However, as she changed her clothes and thought it through, she realized that she might not be able to hide anything. Recalling the holodramas she'd seen of mind reading Jedi Knights who could leap multiple stories and lift speeders with their minds made her shudder. She used to be impressed by the shows. Now, she paced and wondered how much of it was true.

_Truth_. In truth, she knew much more about her building's problems than she had previously admitted. Her great aunt had, in fact, owned the building. Amia had just left out the part about the secrets that were kept in the basement.

It didn't matter. She had been warned not to venture too deep into the structure and she was determined to keep the Jedi out of anything hidden below. So long as she kept to herself on the topside, the building was hers. She could lease the apartments, enjoy the prestigious neighborhood and in theory, enjoy a fortune. She understood the broken down droids on the lowest level were a warning that she was too close, so she had abandoned them and retreated back towards the sunlit levels.

Vellan walked through her spacious apartment. Her fingertips lightly stroked the top of the sofa as she passed through the main living area with her thoughts. The plush furniture was original to the building and a testament to the grandeur that used to reside here. Her great aunt certainly had had high tastes. Amia's mother had told her stories of this aunt. The older woman was remembered as kind, though passionately driven by her work. Her wealth had allowed her to invest her time into her theories and experiments. The family had seen less and less of her as she became consumed. Finally, with Palapine's rise to power, the family had scattered and almost all connection with this great aunt was lost.

Amia was the first of her family to arrive back on Coruscant since. After landing, not even a full day had passed before she was informed her of inheritance. An old piece of flimsi had her lost great aunt's last request that a family member live in her abandoned Coruscant property. Amia didn't think about the curiousness of the situation at the time. A gift of this magnitude was unheard of. She moved in immediately and didn't look back.

However, it quickly became apparent that the gift had strings attached. Each week brought a new piece of dirty flimsi with a note scrawled on it. The letters, if you could call them that, were to the point, hastily folded and left for Amia at the base of the main ventilation shaft that rose up through the main living area. Amia suspected that the shaft ran throughout the building, all the way down to the bottom. The first had simply read _"So long as my instructions are followed, the property is yours."_

The letters were never signed, but Amia suspected that it was her long lost great aunt. Why the woman wanted to stay in the lowest levels, she had no idea. The instructions ranged, but were never hard to follow.

_"Stay out of the lowest levels. They are mine."_

This system of communication had terrified her at first, but there was no evidence that anyone or anything was actually entering the apartment. Rather, the letters that were slipped through the ventilation grating were perhaps the least startling discovery she had made in the building. Though she had accused construction crews for making up ghost stories, Amia had actually seen roaming creatures with her own eyes. She had hoped, in vain, that discrediting their stories would keep her potential residents from being scared away. After all, the strange beings kept their distance and immediately retreated into the shadows when spotted.

After her very first sighting, she had received a letter. _"Do not pursue the beings you see in the shadows."_ Easy enough to follow when they were terrifying.

However, in the last few days, they had become more active. Something was going on. Rounding the plush sofa, Amia stopped in her tracks, startled to find another note at the base of the shaft. She had already received one earlier that week. She had never before received another so soon after the first.

Amia walked over and picked up the letter. Before opening it, she pressed her ear to the ventilation shaft. No sounds, as usual. Pulling away from the wall, she looked down at the flimsi in her hand. She unfolded it and immediately felt dread blossom in her chest.

_"Keep the Skywalkers away."_

Great. Just great. Amia could have really used that note _before _she had invited the Skywalkers over for a social call. The last thing she needed was to lose the roof over her head, especially since it was this roof that had driven her to financial trouble in the first place. It was all she had left. Amia felt frustration bubble up within her. She wadded up the letter and threw it to the side. She stood still for a moment, mind racing, fists balled. What to do? She was trapped, angry that her own family, however distant, would put her in this position in the first place.

Finally, she decided. Maybe if she could catch the Jedi at the temple, before they came over, tell them that she was unable to meet them today…

The door chime rang and Amia thought her heart might have stopped completely. They were here early! Amia glanced at the shaft grating, half way expecting something to jump out and punish her.

The door chimed again. Luke's muffled voice could be heard through the door, asking if she was okay, explaining he felt her distress in the Force.

Well, that answered that. Jedi can definitely see through you. The holodramas nailed at least that part.

Amia still hesitated. What would she tell them? The crumpled warning still lay in the corner of the room. No doubt they would find it along with the other letters and start asking all the questions that would render her homeless.

Suddenly the door unlatched itself. The two Jedi strode in alert, lightsabers in hand, though deactivated.

"Are you in trouble?" asked Luke. Mara was already searching the apartment. Amia thought she might die. She stammered for a response.

"Uh… I… no, no trouble. Look, we should go. Like, now. Do you guys like frozen dessert? I could really go for some." Amia winced. What kind of a line was that?

Luke raised an eyebrow. Mara stopped her search momentarily to regard her with suspicion. _Smooth, _thought Amia. If she wasn't already so scared she would have laughed at the awkwardness of it all.

"You feel we are in danger? Who is here?" asked Mara. She was, as always, to the point. Amia glanced nervously to the ventilation grating in the room before not so subtly tearing her eyes away again just as fast.

Both Jedi caught the glance. Mara, who was closer, stepped closer to the vent and found the crumpled note in the corner. She reached down to pick it up. Amia took one step toward her with a hand raised and mouth open in protest. Mara looked up and gave her a warning look. Amia caught the hint. The younger woman stopped in her tracks and gave up trying to intercept Mara with a defeated sigh of resignation. She brought her hands together in nervous frustration as Mara smoothed out the folds in the note. "So, uh… no dessert then?"

If they heard the attempt at a joke, they didn't act like it. Luke cocked his head in curiosity, and made his way to Mara's side. Before either Skywalker could inquire about the mysterious one lined warning, there was a tremble that vibrated through the floors and walls of the apartment. It came in erratic pulses, each one stronger than the last. Something was tearing its way up to meet them.

Panicked, Amia let out a half choked yelp, plucked her personal bag off the vintage sofa and bolted out of the apartment and towards the turbolift.

Luke and Mara sprinted after her in pursuit. Amia was already in the lift, frantically punching the controls. The trembling in the walls and floors grew more insistent, closer, like monstrous footsteps. The lift doors had already began to shut when the Jedi leapt through and into the lift. Through closing doors, they looked back into the hallway they had come from to see a black suited arm and hand punch cleaning through the durasteel and marble floor.

Amia screamed. The Jedi reached for their lightsabers and activated them with a _snap-hiss. _Suddenly, the doors sealed and the turbolift began its decent.

Terrible, synthesized soft music played in the background of the lift car, half drowned by the hum of the lightsabers. For a moment, all three stood still and absorbed the shock of it all.

Amia pulled her bag up and began to rummage through it like a vornskr after prey. She cursed all the many pockets in her purse. "The automatic start up control for my speeder is somewhere in this vapin' mess…"

Luke turned to her, flabbergasted. "What _was_ that thing?"

Amia pulled her bag down away from her face and looked up at him, angry. "Is now really the time for this inquisition?" She took on a frustrated glare. "Look, I get little notes from my _supposed_ dead great aunt through my air duct with instructions that I have to keep or those _beasties,_" she gestured wildly at the lift doors "start causing trouble in my building and scare off the few residents I have. I have _no one _to pay rent; I'm out of money to renovate the damn place because they make it an absolute _nightmare_ to work here and I don't have a choice in the matter because if I lose this place _I'll have nothing!"_

Amia physically shook from her outburst. She threw her bag on the floor and then slumped along the wall behind her to land on the lift floor next to it. She looked at the contents that had spilled out and laughed sadly. "It's over now."

Mara looked down at the note, still grasped in her hand.

_"Keep the Skywalkers away."_

"Yeah, I'd say you failed in that last order." Mara crumpled the note up again and let it fall with the rest of the remains from the purse.

"You're very comforting," Amia responded dryly, still slumped on the floor. She reached over and picked up the remote for the speeder. It had spilled out with everything else. She offered it up to the Jedi. "Now, who's the faster driver?"

A screech resonated through the lift and the shaft.

Forgetting the speeder, Amia scrambled back up to her feet, wide eyed. The Jedi looked up and out through the Force, lightsabers in hand.

"Hold on to something!" cried Luke. Amia scrambled for a handrail as one repulsor, then the other disappeared with a sickening metal on metal scream. Sparks flew and the lights flickered. Suddenly, the lift went into a free fall. Amia turned and hung tight to the rail and choked on a scream as her stomach threatened to climb out of her mouth. The three spun in sudden weightlessness. The spilled contents of the bag hung suspended in midair like a star field. The lift fell, bumping occasionally into the sides of the long shaft.

Mara hoped this building ran deeper than it appeared to from the outside. Wasting no time, she pushed towards the ceiling of the lift and began to cut at the ceiling. Luke stabilized her physically and with the Force, trying to make it easier to cut away at the durasteel above. Finally, a round plug was cut. Mara pushed up and the chunk released. Luke pushed her up and suddenly she was through. Mara clung to the top of the car as Luke reached over to grab Amia, pulled her tight, and then pushed off the floor and through the new exit Mara had cut. Mara turned to see that her husband had made it out okay before leaping for the maintenance ladder that ran the length of the shaft. She sensed Luke behind her, leaping for the same goal. Mara caught a rung, then clung on with all her strength. Luke held on with one hand firmly to a rung three meters below her, Amia dangling from his other hand.

"Grab the ladder!" Luke prompted and swung Amia towards it. The young woman grabbed on and hung tight, wide eyed and shaking. Once he saw she was secure, Luke looked up at Mara.

"I'm fine!" she called down.

A solid crash boomed through the shaft. The lift car had made it to its final destination. A strong wind rushed up over the three along with a cloud of dust.

The three hung from the maintenance ladder and waited for the echo of the crash to cease. Several seconds passed before Luke lifted his head and looked around. "Looks like we made it just in time," he remarked. "Mara, do you see an exit?"

"Already on it, dear," she replied in a joking, overly sweet voice. With one hand on the maintenance ladder she began to pry open the lift landing doors nearest her.

Luke smiled up at her, then looked down. Vellan was still clinging to the ladder for dear life. In a gentle, reassuring tone, he asked "Do you think you can climb up?"

Amia nodded numbly.

Luke took the lead and began to ascend. Mara had finished manually opening the lift doors and had already crawled up and through.

Finally, Luke too pulled himself over the edge, then pulled Amia up and over to join them. Mara was already scanning the level of the building, lightsaber held up for both a light source and defense.

This floor had long ago been surrendered to time and decay. Thick dust coated every surface, making the entire setting seem bleak and gray. None of the lights were working. Luke activated his blade, adding to the light of Mara's. All seemed quiet, at least for now.

"What is this place?" asked Luke? The group cautiously made their way through the landing. Rows of velvety seats lined both sides of the room, set up like a waiting area in an upscale spaceport. A small pile of luxury luggage, designed in a pattern that was posh several decades ago, sat forgotten at near a group of seats. Disposable drink containers still stained with the remnants of caf littered the floor. The tiling, though obscured by dust, was clearly some sort of exotic marble. A nearby serving table draped with linens held platters made of precious metals. Any food that once sat upon them had long ago disappeared. Small glass tumblers sat on a bar opposite the table. For a waiting area, the room was a small and intimate setting. The space and seating would not have accommodated more than about seventy beings. Even moving slowly, it didn't take the Jedi terribly long to reach the far end.

Set beyond the seating, a grand door marked the center of the back wall. The metal plating on it was heavy, yet ornate in construction. The lock on the door was extremely formidable. A complicated code-entry pad was attached to the door with enough digits and buttons to make guessing the password impossible. A gold plaque curved above the top of the arched door. Luke and Mara raised their lightsabers to read it.

"_Dominion Welcomes You_," Mara read aloud. "How lovely." She turned to her husband. "It would be rude to refuse an invitation, wouldn't it?" She considered the oversized door for a moment, then turned her grip on her lightsaber, preparing to cut through the metal.

"I… I don't think we should go any farther," a small voice called from behind. Mara and Luke turned to find Amia still standing near the entry to the lift. She was barely visible that far back in the low glow of the lightsabers. Luke hadn't even noticed she wasn't following them as they explored the room. She stood with a nervous posture, hands held together in front of her chest. She leaned to one side as if inquiring if they heard her.

"What are you doing back there?" yelled Mara. "Get up here. That thing could be coming down the lift shaft."

Amia twitched at the thought of something popping out of the shaft behind her, but didn't move her feet. She swayed in apprehension but didn't move to join them.

Mara sighed in growing aggravation. She waved her lightsaber the left and the right, casting light around the chamber. "Look. There's nothing in here. Nothing but dust. It's safe to cross. You need to stick with us or you're going to get left here. That lift isn't going to be working any time soon and you _certainly_ don't want to take any stairs up from this level."

Mara gave Amia a second to respond. When she continued to hesitate, Mara stalked forward.

Seeing Mara come towards her, Amia gave a shriek and put her hands up. She slinked to the side and shoved herself flat against the wall behind her. "No no no no no no no! Listen… I… no!" Mara lunged the last meter between them and grabbed the younger woman by the wrist. She then began firmly towing Amia behind her. Luke watched with some amusement from his post near the large door.

"You don't understand!" Amia cried. She continued to resist making progress into the room.

"You're really difficult to save, you know that?" Mara asked. With a firm tug, Mara successfully yanked Amia to the halfway point.

Immediately, all the lights flashed on. Music began to play. Travel schedule holograms flickered once then stayed on, scrolling through departure times that were decades overdue. Colorful lights illuminated the plaque about the arched metal door, making it the focal point of the room. Mara immediately released Amia and placed both hands on her lightsaber. She and Luke dropped to defensive positions near the floor.

A full three heartbeats passed. The music played soothingly, a stark contrast to the adrenaline the Jedi were feeling.

Cautiously, Mara and Luke rose. Mara turned back and looked at Amia. The younger woman hadn't been startled when the room came to life.

"See? This is why we should have left," said Amia. She crossed her arms over her chest. "We woke up the gundark."

"How did you do that?" asked Luke. He had moved over to join them at the center of the room.

Amia looked at both Jedi, unsure. Finally, she gave a long exhale of defeat. "I guess you've seen this much. You might as well know the rest…"

She crossed the room and opened a small door to the right. Another illuminated room stood beyond. She ushered both Jedi through with a hand. Luke and Mara looked at each other, then decided to go along. The three entered the room and Amia shut the door behind them.

The room was set up as an exhibit.

"I told you guys that this place was my inheritance, right?" started Amia. "Well, there's a reason that it needed to be kept in the family." She began to walk around the displays, activating the holograms that each held. The first was an image of a group of humans. They were dressed in splendor, clearly well to do. Amia pointed to the woman seated on the far end of the image. "That's my great aunt. You see, she was part of this group. They were wealthy, intellectual. They became frustrated with the senate in the Old Republic, like a lot of people were. However, instead of doing something normal, like, say, leave Coruscant and live happily ever after as rich people on a tropical planet, they decided to start over right here."

Amia activated the next holo. Displayed in a technical layout were plans for an immense city, kilometers and kilometers under the surface of Coruscant. "It was a secret," Amia continued. "They wanted to be free of the Republic and the rules that governed them. They decided they would only invite their friends and families. They funded the construction, had droids do the work. Kept it all real quiet. A lot of them were scientists, engineers and doctors. They built this whole thing under everyone's noses. Everyone avoids the lowest levels of Coruscant, anyway. It was as private as deep space down there."

The next holo displayed several images of the luxury in the city below them. Clearly, this group of extremists had spared no expense in creating their new home on Corusucant. Included in the images was the waiting room they were just in. The holo showed it filled with the elite waiting to descend to their new dwelling.

"So… are they still down there?" asked Luke. "Is there still an entire isolated city living below us?"

Amia's face twisted and she cast her eyes to the side. "Things got… weird. When Palpatine became emperor, they shut the door and sealed the city. Anyone left topside here in the waiting room never got to come down. Stories of Palpatine's rule and power drove them to become more and more isolated and paranoid. Eventually, all communication with the rest of Coruscant stopped. Things got bad down there, apparently. I mean, it makes sense. In a society, not everyone can be at the top. Once the service droids broke down, they started taking people from the surface. Most of them were dregs they found in the lower levels. They made them do the grunt work. However, Palpatine scared them. They were afraid he would try to wipe them out, so they prepared. I heard that they even started snatching Imperial stormtroopers and making them serve in Dominion."

Mara snorted. "Stormtroopers stationed on Coruscant would have sooner died. Coruscant was the ultimate post for any soldier. They were the most loyal to the Emperor."

Amia nodded. "That's true, but I don't think they got a chance to choose death. When you have paranoid group of scientists in isolation, governed by zero rules or morality, the results were… well, they _made_ them serve. For a while, anyway. The last transmission the family up here got from those in Dominion was something about revolt, a riot. That was ten years ago."

Luke felt a chill run down his spine. "Any idea what they did to those people they captured?"

"Yeah," said Amia. She turned and activated the final hologram. A heavily armored figure appeared and displayed its strength and arsenal. A scrolling caption ran underneath, reading "The Pride of Dominion." The thing displayed was half human, half machine. Instead of a face, it had a solid sheet of armor.

"You see," said Amia quietly, "They created a weapon they couldn't control. They couldn't completely eradiate the memories or the motivations in the stormtroopers. So, half of these monsters they created to defend their city ultimately turned against Dominion."

The Jedi considered this news uneasily. Luke knew that Mara shared his thoughts. Imperial stormtroopers might be difficult to bend to your will, but a child was much more malleable. If children were being taken for this purpose, the results would be undoubtedly effective and horrifying. Especially if that child was Force sensitive.

Mara cut to the chase. "So we have an isolated city with possible super soldiers and some too-smart-for-their-own-good aristocrats playing Creator. I think we're up to speed on all but one thing: how did you get the lights working in these rooms?"

Amia shrugged. "The founders wanted to make sure no one but their families got in. Everything is coded to our bloodlines. The building recognizes me."

"So you can get the door open?" ventured Luke.

The younger woman's face paled. "You aren't serious. Look, that door not only keeps the Coruscant out of Dominion, it also keeps Dominion out of the rest of the _galaxy_. Do you know what might happen if I break that seal?"

"We already have an idea," said Mara. "We've got children being taken and at least one of those things," she said gesturing to the image of the super soldier, "in this half of the building looking for us. No wonder you can't keep any re-construction, let alone residents in this place. There's already a leak, and the fastest way to getting this situation resolved is to hit the heart of it."

"But…" Amia stammered nervously, "shouldn't you guys at least get some back up or something?"

"No time," replied Luke. "It's going to take too long to get back up to the surface from here with a broken lift and our comlinks aren't working. I tried earlier." He took his comlink out and hit the activation switch twice to demonstrate. "We'll just have to be stealthy about this and avoid trouble where we can. With your status as a family member, we should hopefully be able to get in without setting off any alarms."

Amia looked desperately from one Jedi to the other. Their faces were set in resolve. Finally, she set her lips together and gave a nod. "Fine. But I want to go on the record saying that I have a really bad feeling about this."

Mara nodded. "Don't worry, you're not the first."

With that, the three left the smaller room and returned to the main waiting area. Amia approached the locked door, stopped and looked at the keypad. A small, inset camera turned and focused on her, then waited. Amia turned back around and looked at the Jedi. "I have no idea what the code is or how-"

"VOICE CODE AND FACIAL RECOGNITION ACCEPTED. VELLAN," the door bellowed in a computerized voice.

Amia yelped and nearly jumped through the roof.

The door slid aside.

Mara walked up and gave the stunned Amia a slap on the back. "Good work." She walked around the younger woman and entered the door.

"Knew you could do it," added Luke with a grin. He walked around her other side and joined his wife.

"Ugh," moaned Amia, placing a hand to her head. "There isn't enough Whyren's in the galaxy for this sort of trauma."

"Don't make me drag you in again," called Mara over her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah," responded Amia. Begrudgingly, she followed the Jedi down the small hallway and into the turbolift, the last of Coruscant topside left in the dusty room behind them.


	12. Chapter 12

After two hours of tedious traveling in the dark, Corran decided that a vacation on Nal Hutta with a Hutt as a date was probably preferable to this. He and Kyp had encountered everything from breaks in the suspended walkway to some sort of fanged, winged beasts that were excessively ravenous. His eyes were strained, his body was bruised from the fall despite Kyp's impressive use of TK, and on top of it all, his unlikely companion would not stop making his aggravating little remarks.

"Are we there yet?" asked Kyp dryly, slaying one more of the flying nasties that had been hunting them.

Corran grit his teeth together. "Kyp, I swear by Selonia…"

Suddenly, a thousand lights blazed at once above them. The bat creatures fled, screaming, slamming their bodies into objects in blind panic.

Corran cried out and Kyp staggered back startled. Both Jedi covered their eyes and dropped to their knees, seeking the Force to compensate for their vision.

Slowly, they brought their arms away from their faces, eyes painfully adjusting to the sudden change. Two hundred meters ahead of them, the cat walk met with an immense network of scaffolding. An enormous, looming wall stood imposingly behind the web of scaffolds, extending deep into the abyss below them. Looking down through the grating in the catwalk, the end of the abyss still could not be seen, even in the new lighting. Rising up, the solid wall ended in the source of the blazing, white light.

Both men rose from their stunned positions. Kyp was, of course, the first to break the silence.

"Nevermind," he said. "We're definitely here."

Corran nodded, forgetting his frustration with Kyp. "The question is, where exactly is 'here'?"

The Jedi quickly covered the last two hundred meters and began exploring the wall. After several minutes, Kyp found an emergency maintenance access panel several meters up in the scaffolding. Kyp called Corran over and the two men began to break their way in. Using their lightsabers, they worked to cut their way through. The metal plating on the door was terribly thick and made for slow and difficult work. As minutes passed, Corran hoped desperately that Jysella was hanging in there. He was close, he could feel it. Kyp seemed to sense Corran's anxiety. For the first time in their journey, he worked in silence.

Finally the plug fell away. The Jedi waited a handful of heartbeats, senses extended outwards, testing for danger. Sensing no red flags, Kyp leapt through first. He landed silently at the end of the two meter drop. Corran landed a bit more heavily, possessing no telekinesis to slow his fall. Kyp turned to face him with a smirk.

Corran met Kyp's smug gaze and extended one finger towards his face. "Not a word," he hissed.

Their banter was cut short by a very heavy _thud_ that echoed across sparse maintenance room. Standing opposite from them, amid dusty crates of old supplies, stood another beast of a humanoid that resembled the one that snatched Jysella and initiated their fall into the heart of Coruscant. In the new light, Kyp and Corran could now see the beast in detail. The space where its face should have been was flat, expressionless black metal plating. It stood easily two meters tall and was as wide as Kyp and Corran combined. Its muscular bulk was so defined it almost looked like a caricature. Overlapping armor conformed to its body and small loops stood out on its arms and back. On top of it all, it was lethally armed.

Corran wasted no time. His lightsaber came alive with a _snap hiss_. "Where is she? Where is my daughter?" he screamed across the room.

The thing responded by hoisting the heavy, oversized blaster rifle in its right hand. Kyp ran up to stand next to Corran, lightsaber raised. The monster fired a shot at Corran. The bolt was too powerful for the lightsaber to fully block. Kindled by his resolve to find his daughter, he focused on the excess energy, absorbed it, and launched it back towards to the beast in front of him.

The blast hit the armored foe in the chest and knocked it backwards. Kyp, lunged forward, propelled by the Force, and cut the blaster in two before cleaving his lightsaber downwards towards the chest of the creature, intending to use Corran's initial hit to his advantage.

To his surprise, the blade never connected. The monster blocked the blade with its left forearm. The armor was strong enough to hold against the lightsaber. The metal plating glowed hot, but did not break. The resistance was enough to give the beast a momentary advantage. Swinging suddenly and with furious force, the beast swung a right hook at Kyp.

With the Force as his guide, Kyp was able to leap with an enhanced speed. The beast's right hook swept millimeters under the Jedi's booted feet and into the floor on the opposite side, piercing through the durasteel like flimsi much to Kyp's horror. Kyp back flipped away and regrouped with Corran.

"Let's try not to catch one of those in the face," Kyp said, panting.

"Agreed," said Corran, dryly."I'm starting to get real tired of these things."

The two men stood, lightsabers raised. They were going to have to work together on this one.

By then, the armored beast was back on its feet. It raised two more blaster rifles. Though neither blaster was as powerful as the first, the monster now had double the firepower. Kyp and Corran worked in tandem, blocking the shots, directing them back towards the aggressor. The Jedi were able to send many of the shots back at the beast's armored plating, but the suit held under the barrage.

"I'm open to suggestions!" Kyp yelled at Corran, deflecting a bolt back towards the monster.

Corran thought furiously as the shots continued. "Let's try to split up and divert the firepower! You go that way!" Corran jerked his head to the right. Kyp responded by moving in that direction.

The armored soldier saw that they were attempting to flank him. Suddenly, it threw its blasters towards the Jedi and hoisted the supply crate nearest to it. It threw the crate with alarming force just to the left of Corran, forcing him to dive back towards Kyp. The crate exploded against the wall behind him, launching its contents with deadly speed in all directions. The crate had been full of durasteel building supplies, all of which were flying unpredictably. The Jedi hit the ground. Kyp poured his focus into the Force and once again used it as a shield against the flying metal parts.

The distraction was all the beast needed. While the Jedi were flattened on the ground avoiding shrapnel, the monster ran up and loomed over them. The raining durasteel bounced off its armor harmlessly. It raised both arms back, fists balled, and aimed to turn Kyp's head into jelly first.

Something sudden and strong pushed the beast from behind. Off balance, its fists landed hard on the floor plating just above Kyp and Corran's heads.

"Kick!" Corran screamed. Bringing their legs up in unison, Kyp and Corran planted their feet on the beast's abdomen and, using the Force to add to their strength, launched the monster up, over them, and out of the hole they cut in the wall behind them.

The monster flew backwards and out of the room. The two Jedi could hear the scaffolding outside snap and twist away as the beast fell into the abyss.

Corran pushed himself up into a sitting position. Kyp hoisted himself halfway on his elbows. Both men were relieved by what they saw.

"Felt like you two could use a hand," said Mara. She and Luke stood side by side. Their hands were still extended from the Force push they had used to push the monster off balance moments before. A lovely, though unsure, young woman stood behind them, off to the side. She was still wide-eyed from witnessing the encounter.

"Well, Corran needed a hand. I'm sure I would have figured something out," Kyp said jokingly, plucking himself off the ground and standing. He was rewarded with a dirty look from the Corellian.

"Seriously though, you guys couldn't have picked a better time. Thanks," finished Kyp.

Corran also stood and dusted off his green robes. "I second that. But how did you two end up down here?"

Luke turned and gestured to the young woman behind them. "Corran, Kyp, meet Amia. She has been our guide."

Amia nodded in acknowledgement and opened her mouth to voice her own greeting, but her congenial introduction was cut short when Corran fixed her with an intense stare and started forward. "Guide? You _know_ this place? Do you know where my daughter is?"

Amia raised her hands up defensively as she tried to hold distance between them. "Whoa. Hang on. I don't know anything about where she is, but I'm trying to help, okay?"

"What's your connection?" Corran demanded, stalking forward.

Amia was still attempting to flee. "Please don't hurt me. Um, Mara? Luke? New guy?"

Kyp chuckled. Luke stepped in to placate the situation. "Corran, her great aunt may know some answers. Her blood relation allows her access to this place. She's able to open doors, but otherwise doesn't know much. Don't worry, though, we will find Jysella. We're close."

Corran stopped his pursuit and considered Luke's words. He once again reached out in the Force for Jysella. He still wasn't getting anything solid, but did feel like they were getting close. Finally, he nodded towards Amia. "Lead on, then."

Amia visibly relaxed. "Okay, yes. I can definitely do that," she offered Corran. "And thanks, Luke."

"Okay, we have the formalities over with," said Mara. "I suggest heading back to the main hallway we were following."

Corran nodded. Eager, he took the lead towards the door the Skywalkers and Amia had entered through. Luke and Mara followed behind him. Kyp walked up next to Amia and offered her a hand. "It's Kyp, by the way. Not 'new guy,' okay?"

Amia gave his hand a quick shake. "Kyp. Got it. Sorry, thought I was going to get murdered there for a second."

Kyp nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I agree, Corran has that effect on people sometimes." Chuckling at his own jibe, he turned to follow the other three Jedi. "Let's go," he called over his shoulder to Amia.

"Right behind you," replied Amia. She watched as Kyp rounded the corner, then sighed. She entertained for a moment whether or not she would be successfully able to bolt and find a way back home if she made a break for it. Her home, if it even still existed after the damage that that monster had caused. She hoped she hid it well, but inside, this entire adventure terrified her. If she had never agreed to meet the Jedi in the first place, she could be home, in her velvety lounge pants, curled up with a glass of the finest spirits…

Suddenly, movement caught the corner of her eye. For a moment, Amia's heart nearly leapt out of her chest. She opened her mouth to scream for the Jedi, then closed it again when she realized what she saw was simply a piece of flimsi floating to the ground. She waited two heartbeats, listening for any indication that someone was there. However, she heard no one. Cautiously, she walked over to where the piece of flimsi had landed.

It was a crumpled note, same as the ones she used to get at home. She unfolded it quickly to find a new message.

_Lead the Jedi to the pavilion at the end of the grand hall. Seek shelter immediately once there. I can offer you protection._

_Trust me._

_T. Vellan_

Could it be? She still had family alive in this dump? More importantly, she still had family down here that could help her? She wondered wryly if the Jedi weren't the only ones able to read her thoughts. Apparently, "T. Vellan" was aware of her desire to escape. She wanted out of this mess, but did she want it bad enough to trust a great aunt she had never even met before? Or, more alarming, was it someone posing as her great aunt?

Amia's frantic worrying was cut short when a head full of fiery red hair rounded back around the corner. "Hey, Vellan," called Mara. "Are you okay?"

Amia crumpled the small piece of flimsi between her hands and turned to regard Mara. "Sorry, Mara. Yes, I'm fine. I'm coming," She forced a smile on her face and walked quickly forward. Amia tried desperately to bury her frantic thoughts deep inside her.

Mara narrowed her eyes and watched Amia carefully. However, she didn't say anything if she suspected anything suspicious. Instead, she nodded, and indicated the exit with her hand. "C'mon, it's dangerous to stay behind. Try to keep up."

Amia gave an enthusiastic smile and nod and walked in pace with Mara. She wondered how she was going to get out of this.

The women caught up with the other three Jedi and soon the five of them were on their way down the hall, towards a large arched entryway titled "THE GRAND PAVILLION." The entryway was so large the sign was legible, even from this far away. The hallway was tall and decorative, even more so than the waiting area Amia had discovered with the Skywalkers upstairs in the lowest level of her building. However, it was dusty and in disrepair. Even the furniture and artwork seemed sad and forgotten. Lights flickered and some finally died as they made their way forward. Though the hallway was grand in size, the dim lighting and lonely feeling of abandonment made the chamber seem claustrophobic.

Inside, a battle raged inside Amia. She swallowed hard and thought she might be sick. Should she tell the Jedi about the note? If she did, would it be betrayal to her family? What would happen to the Jedi if she followed her written orders? While she wanted to be free of them, she certainly wished them no harm.

Amia didn't have time to make her choice before a metal on metal screech echoed from several hundred meters behind them down the grand hall.

"We've got company!" called Mara. She put a hand to Amia's back and pushed her in the direction of the pavilion. "Time to run!"

Amia attempted to protest, but found her voice lost in the commotion. Suddenly, her legs were moving. Corran sprinted to her left, Mara on her right. Amia glanced back to see that Luke and Kyp had opted to bring up the rear. They already had their lightsabers in hand and were no doubt going to be the ones who took up the fight first.

Guilt riddled Amia. Running and panting, she tried to tell Mara about the note, but the noise of the approaching beast-like creatures was deafening. Mara couldn't hear her. Instead she shook her head, indicating that Amia save her breath and gestured forward to the entryway of the pavilion.

They were almost there.

Amia attempted to stop in her tracks. They absolutely could not go the pavilion! It was bound to be a trap! However, Corran and Mara hoisted her by her arms and propelled her forward. "No!" screamed Amia. "You don't understand!"

The Jedi either couldn't hear her or decided to ignore her plea. After all, the noise of the approaching threat was growing ever louder, ever more ominous.

Finally, they reached the entrance to the pavilion. Mara took one of Amia's hands and shoved towards the familiar keypad that marked every door. "GET US IN!" she cried.

Amia turned to watch as the four Jedi faced the approaching monsters and ignited their lightsabers. Bounding up the hallway the last 100 meters, four of the faceless monsters stood poised to attack.

Four on four. They were caught in dead end. Either Amia got them into the pavilion, or she and the Jedi faced a very, very messy situation.

Amia turned back around and faced the keypad. She grit her teeth in defeat. She had no choice!

Using the momentary silence of the stand-off behind her, Amia used the voice recognition code she had used before.

The heavy doors swooshed aside with surprising swiftness. Amia felt an arm wrap around her from behind and pull her inside. From behind her long hair that fell in front of her face, Amia could see Luke, Mara and Corran dive inside with a super human speed.

The five of them landed in a pile and the heavy doors slammed shut again, sealing the pursing enemies outside. Amia rolled away from the arm around her and found that Kyp had pulled her inside. "You alright?" he asked.

Amia nodded. "Yeah, thanks for the assist."

The numbness from their narrow escape left Amia suddenly when she remembered where they had fallen into.

The lights flickered on slowly, but this time, they came from the floor. Soft lights outlined the gentle, winding paths that led through the now-overgrown park like area. The vegetation was wild and tall, but the center statues could still be seen over it all. As if keeping watch, enormous figures of the Dominion founders stood in a circle, facing outwards. The soft glow of the lights from below highlighted their stone faces in a menacing way.

The park pavilion stretched on in labyrinthine fashion. Winding paths were lost in the sea of overgrown vegetation. Small seating areas had long ago been reclaimed by the bushes and flowering plants that once grew neatly beside them. Amia imagined that this place, like the grand hall before it, had once been quite lovely and relaxing. Now, it seemed like an evil forest from a backwater planet's fable, complete with the dark villains in the heart of it all. The tall surrounding walls were so covered in vines that it took Amia a moment to realize that small balconies dotted them.

"Let's go," said Mara. "It's not going to take them long to find a way in."

"Wait," Amia said suddenly. The four Jedi turned to regard her. Her eyes scanned the immediate area warily. She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "There's something I have to tell you guys. Luke, Mara, remember the note I got back in my apartment? I got another." Kyp and Corran looked at each other with the unspoken question, but didn't interrupt to ask. "This pavilion is set up for a trap. She's waiting for…" Amia hesitated, the word "you" stuck in her throat. "She's waiting for us," Amia finished quickly.

Luke looked back towards the center of the room and seemed to scan it with more than just his eyes. Mara still kept an eye warily on the door they had entered through.

"Those things she sent after us have been herding us, not attacking outright," Kyp said thoughtfully, keeping his voice low. "Except for the one that met us at the wall," he said, looking at Corran. "Even that one seemed more bent on spilling _my_ blood."

Corran's face grew serious and his voice dark. "I'm sure she has something real special planned for me. I'd love to share what I have been planning for _her_." He growled the last word. He paced as if caged and seemed to stretch out his awareness as Luke as doing.

Amia watched the Jedi as they searched and thought through the situation. She tossed some of her loose long brunette hair back behind her. Her intricate hair style that she had spent an hour completing for the expo had come undone through the Dominion trials. Giving up on maintaining it, she removed the last pin and let brunette waves fall free, shaking out the kinks.

"Little early to get comfortable," Kyp quipped, noticing her movement. He had stepped closer to her , allowing Corran to menacingly brood and the Skywalkers to plan. He continued to speak in a low voice."You planning on moving in? We're not captured yet."

"Funny," replied Amia. "You're one to talk." She pointed to his own hair which now lay on his shoulders. The tie that had kept it behind him had disappeared during their mad dash.

"Ah," Kyp replied. He brushed a hand through it.

"Here," offered Amia. She held out an elegant ribbon that had been woven in her own hair previously. "You'll probably need it more than I will. I don't do anything fancy, just run in a panic." She laughed at her own attempt at humor.

Kyp smiled and took the ribbon. He pulled his hair back and tied it into place. "Thanks."

"Beautiful," remarked Amia teasingly, examining his work. "Hey, it even matches some of the gray strands you have in there."

Kyp's smile vanished. He gave her a mock expression of hurt. "You're going to insult me after I pulled you through the door?" He shook his head in an over-the-top fashion. "Why don't you and Corran just form a club? I get enough grief from him as it is."

Amia laughed, trying to stay quiet and failing. Corran shot her a warning look from where he stood, just out of earshot. She attempted to compose herself immediately under his scrutiny.

Kyp stood with his back to Corran. He moved in front of Amia, cutting off Corran's distant gaze. He gave Amia a smile. "Never mind, I think that little outburst just disqualified you for the Corran Club."

Amia giggled again, despite herself. "Give him a break, his kid is gone," Amia whispered. "And anyway, I'm sure the ladies love your hair long. Even with the gray in it."

Kyp raised a surprised eyebrow and his smiled widened. "I appreciate that. You let me know if you're one of them."

Amia's mouth opened slightly in shock and her eyes widened. "Seriously? Are you flirting with me at a time like this? Unbelievable. How did such a rogue become a Jedi?"

Kyp laughed, then gave her a formal bow, as if introducing himself for the first time. "Jedi _Master_ Rogue, actually. The scoundrel of the Jedi, at your service. Now, we have officially met."

Amia rolled her eyes. "No wonder Corran loathes you."

The levity of the moment dissipated with harsh sound of metal being twisted away by force. The door behind them began to moan under the pressure of the monsters pushing their way through. The heavy metal plating was already starting to buckle.

The Jedi activated their lightsabers once more. Kyp turned back to Amia. "You need to hide. Run!"

Amia plunged her way forward, past the Jedi and into the pavilion. She stopped at an intersection of vegetation, unsure of which way to go. She kicked herself, wishing desperately she wasn't so worthless in a fight. In her hesitation, a small hand suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist. Amia gasped and stifled a scream. A girl reached out to her from the vegetation. "This way!" she hissed.

Amia stole one more glance behind her at the Jedi as they prepared once more for battle. Feeling unsure and desperate, Amia finally dove into the bush where the small girl hid.

"This way," the girl whispered. She began to crawl her way through the dark growths in front of her. Amia followed after, but with difficulty. The little tunnel through the dense bushes was small and thorns tore at her loose hair and clothing.

"What's going on?" asked Amia anxiously. The girl responded with a harsh "Shush!"

As they crawled through the dirt and branches, Amia could the heavy metal door finally give way behind her. Four lightsabers thrummed in the distance, but did not dance in battle.

Amia stopped crawling and sat up best as she could. She listened intently, then opened her mouth to yell out to the Jedi, have them join her and the girl in hiding…

The same small dirty hand reached up and placed itself over Amia's mouth. Amia reacted with disgust and pulled herself away, driving her head back into the bushes above her. She made a sour face and brought up her arm to wipe her mouth. Before Amia could attempt to call out again, a booming voice filled the chamber.

"JEDI, YOU ARE TRESPASSING ON OUR GROUND."

The female voice was filled with authority and oddly melodic. It was like an impersonation of a leader on the edge of insanity. The little girl next to Amia seemed to cower at the sound of it.

Luke's distant voice was the one to respond. "We will leave you be with the safe return of Jysella Horn. We have reason to believe that you are holding her here."

The booming female voice laughed before responding. "YOUNG JEDI, SHE IS NO LONGER YOURS…"

Amia was startled out of listening to the exchange when the small girl tugged on her blouse. "This way," she whispered. "We have to go. There isn't much time, okay?" She led the way by crawling once more through the brush.

Amia hesitated, then followed. Whatever was about to happen out there was bound to not be good. As she carefully crawled, she listened to the lady continue on.

"THE CHILD WILL BE KEY TO OUR RETURN TO POWER. DOMINION WILL RISE AGAIN."

Amia heard Corran curse in the distance. Her heart went out to him, and yet she didn't stop her slow crawl to what she hoped would be her escape.

"You are one of the founders, aren't you? Vellan. That's your name, correct?" asked Luke.

Amia stopped crawling. Wide eyed, her heart pounded. This was it; the old lady was going to know she gave the Jedi too much information. Amia cringed. How would she respond? Would she rescind her offer of protection towards Amia? The little girl in front of her stopped to turn around and regard her curiously. Amia swallowed nervously.

"Go," hissed Amia. The little girl turned back around, startled, and continued to lead the way.

"I AM THEA VELLAN," the loud voice crooned. "REMEMBER MY NAME. SOON, MY ARMY WILL BE ONE OF THE MOST FORMIDABLE FORCES IN THE GALAXY."

Amia and the girl finally crawled through the brush and met a wall with a grating. The girl began to work at the latches on the grating and opened them with skill, one by one.

"To the Sith with your agenda!" called Corran distantly, with passion. "I will have my daughter back!"

Two things happened at once. As the girl finally got the last release on the grate open, every entrance in the pavilion opened with startling suddenness. The sound of dozens of oversized, masked beasts could be heard rushing forward. Amia listened vainly to the sounds of skirmish near her, through the brush. Lightsabers crackled as they moved through the air and the Jedi roared in battle cries. The overpowered monsters rumbled past, toward the Jedi with alarming speed. Lightsabers hissed and spun. Amia wished desperately she could see, could help somehow.

The small hand returned to Amia's wrist firmly. The child was already in the passage behind the grating and was pulling for Amia to join her. Amia heard a Jedi cry out in pain behind her, beyond the vegetation. Heart heavy with worry and guilt, she finally abandoned them to follow the girl into the dark safety of the passage behind the grate.


	13. Chapter 13

Amia and the small girl emerged some time later in a dank, hidden chamber. If the rest of Dominion had been abandoned, this area had been simply neglected. With practiced skill, the little girl opened the last grate and swung herself free and on to the floor below. Amia followed with less grace. Knees sore from the crawl, she stumbled forward and nearly landed on the floor face first. Once her eyes had adjusted to the dim light, she was glad she hadn't. The floor was filthy, much like her younger counterpart. Now that the girl stood next to her, she could tell she hadn't bathed in some time and was wearing clothing that was well used. Amia's face contorted once more, recalling the child's hands had been on her lips, then silently chastised herself for thinking of such a trivial thing at a time like this.

Straightening her back, Amia looked around. At least a dozen human children stared back at her in curiosity. None of them could have been more than ten years of age and all of them were in the same ragged state.

All of them were female. Additionally, all of them felt…. wrong, somehow. The realization struck Amia suddenly. It wasn't because of their ragged state, either. In fact, Amia could have sworn that the one on the end had eyes that flashed suspiciously in the dim light.

She had a feeling that they were a little young to be addicted to spice. Something else was going on here.

"Hi," started Amia lamely. The girls looked at her in silence, unsure. Inwardly, Amia kicked herself. She wasn't safe yet. She needed her new companions to view her as an authority figure if she was to get them all and herself out of here.

Amia stepped forward, about to attempt contact again, when the door on the left side of the room swung open.

The girls scurried to the center of the room and lined up immediately. The child that had initially brought Amia to this inner chamber nearly ran over her in an attempt to get in her place in the line. _So much for being the one in charge_, thought Amia.

The figure that stepped through had long gray hair and frayed tunic to match. She looked over the line of girls with an emotionless stare, appraising them. Finally, her gaze landed on Amia. The old woman's face blossomed with a smile that seemed more predatory than warm. Amia felt a cold knot form inside her gut.

Amia was the first to break the silence. "Thea?" she ventured.

"Amia," the woman answered with a nod. "At last, you see your heritage. Your inheritance."

Amia swallowed. "I thought the inheritance part was the building above us."

Thea Vellan's smile turned sad. "The building I left you was but a doorway, child. You have seen Dominion, the power and wealth it once held. Help me, and you could have it all. Dominion will rise again. We are an armored fortress of wealth, child. Beneath the dust lies a sleeping power of great magnitude. I have already begun the negotiations with the outside. With the extra supplies, we will finally rebuild. "

Amia glanced back again at the girls. "How do they fit in? They weren't born here, were they? Where are the people that lived in Dominion?"

Thea nodded. "Dominion suffered a great revolt several years ago that resulted in the unfortunate… extermination… of anyone we felt may have been part of the rebellion. Now, only our city's most loyal soldiers still stand. However, even they grow weary. We must remain vigilant if we are to rise again."

Amia considered. "You're talking about the giants in the faceless armor?"

"Yes," confirmed Thea. "I was able to increase their strength and mass based on my research, but at a point, the men we used become unstable. Females are more reliable in their reaction to the treatments."

Amia's eyes widened. "You're experimenting on these children?" she burst. "You can't do that! Where did you even find them?"

Thea's gaze became harsh. "They were nothing before their service to Dominion! They were rats on the streets of Coruscant! A plague! I have given them purpose!"

Amia rushed forward, past her great aunt, and into the chamber beyond. She stopped and took in the sight that she saw. A prototype of the incredibly strong armor stood on display at the center of the chamber. It was almost exactly like the armor on the hulks that she encountered before with the Jedi, except this suit of armor was slender, a design more befitting a girl in her teenage years. Serums and fluids sat in various containers around the lab in various iridescent hues, like the color that flashed in the young girl's eyes in the previous room.

Thea walked up behind Amia. "We will have a stronger army than before with the help of the Hutts," she mewed into her ear. "Those overgrown slugs were good for at least providing me with the armor I need. In return, I provided them parts of my bioengineering research. Not enough to be a threat to us, of course. Soon, they will be inconsequential. My young army has been raised here and is loyal to me, to Dominion." The older woman's breath was sour. Amia pulled away and regarded the woman with distaste.

"You must know this isn't right," said Amia. "You can't just take children and force them to serve your needs."

Thea smiled. "I understand that this news can be alarming, at first. However, you will come around. Come, I will show you the rest."

The older woman continued through her lab and headed to a small hallway that led away to other chambers. Amia followed, despite her dread at what else she may find.

"Your unlikely Jedi companions," started Thea, "Were no match for even our old battalion of defenders. Imagine how we will thrive with the new!"

At the mention of the Jedi, Amia grew sick with worry. "What did you do to them? Did you… kill them?"

Thea laughed easily. "No child, I'm not ready to declare that war just yet. Horn was supposed to arrive alone," she said, throwing an accusing glance at Amia. Amia, in turn, felt her mouth grow dry under the scrutiny, but didn't offer up an excuse or an apology. Thea continued, "I have had to improvise to accommodate the others. You will find them alive." She gestured through a viewport that oversaw a small laboratory room. Amia ran forward and looked in.

All four Jedi were lying unconscious. Sitting easily to the side, a young teenage girl with dark brown curls guarded over them. She wore the same type of armor that had been on display in the previous room, her faceless helmet resting at her side.

"Who is she?" demanded Amia.

"Does it matter her name?" asked Thea easily. "She is a servant, wholly devoted. She is the first of her kind. Though still in training, she can easily handle the Jedi."

Amia turned to Thea. "You have the girl they are looking for, don't you? Corran's daughter."

Without waiting for a response, Amia ran forward again, further down the hallway. She began to open door after door. Finally, the last door in the hallway opened to reveal a little girl curled up on a small cot.

For a moment, Amia's breath caught in her throat. The child looked up with eyes that were unmistakably like her father's.

The expression on her small face turned from fear to confusion and desperation. "Help me," she said shakily.

Thea ran up behind Amia and shoved the younger woman out of the way. She slammed the door shut once more. From behind the thick door, the child could be heard beating against the door with her fists and crying out.

Amia found herself furious. "You can't do this to these people!" she screamed. "Let them go!" Fists balled, she flew towards the older woman, enraged.

Her fists never connected. Instead, she found herself face against the floor, arms behind her back. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glance of curly brown hair. Somehow, Thea's protégé managed to sneak out of the chamber with the Jedi and put herself in a position to protect her master without Amia ever even noticing. Amia screamed in frustration and struggled, but was unable to get free. The girl with the brown curls was exceptionally strong.

Finally, Amia gave up her struggle. Satisfied, Thea called off her guardian.

Amia sat up and looked at Thea. It was clear she wasn't going to win by physical attack. She was going to have to try a different approach.

"Why?" she finally demanded of her great aunt.

"Why?" repeated Thea, perplexed.

"Yeah. Why stay here? What's so special about Dominion? What's left to defend now that Palpatine is gone?"

To Amia's satisfaction, the older woman's gaze actually softened. Her eyes blinked several times as she considered the questions.

"This is my home," she finally responded, softly. "I have given everything for Dominion. I left my own family top side. I came here because I believed in what this city stood for." Thea walked as she reminisced. "Until the revolt, we were free," she continued. "Honestly, truly free. I could run the experiments I wanted, make discoveries as I saw fit. When I was called upon to create the perfect army, I was able to use bioengineering in a way the Old Republic would have never allowed. I answered to no one. Do you have any idea what that's like? As a scientist? As a creative mind?"

"True, I admit I don't," started Amia gently. Slowly, she rose from the floor and to her feet. "But you must see that you are hurting people. When you have no one to answer to, there's no balance. This city fell in the first place because, well..." Amia took a deep breath before continuing. "People can't handle that much freedom. Look at you, Thea. To achieve your freedom, your paradise, you stole it from others!"

To Amia's surprise, Thea laughed. "No balance! Hah! You want balance? The revolution tipped the scales in a way that nearly led to complete disaster. Dominion was almost lost forever. Now," she said, gesturing to the young girls that watched them from a careful distance, "the pendulum has swung back in my favor!"

"Why the Jedi girl?" Amia demanded. "You said you found the others. If that's true, why go out of your way to kidnap a child?"

"The Force," Thea began, "May be difficult to explain scientifically, but its effects are undeniable. She will be the greatest of all my warriors once I obtain her loyalty."

"I don't think you can do it in time," said Amia. "You know her father and the other Jedi will never stop hunting you. Even if you let them live, let them go, they will return in even greater numbers."

Thea laughed easily. "Let them go? Stars, child, do I strike you as suicidal? No, no, they will be kept here. Originally, I sought to keep only Corran Horn as a pawn to control the girl. The Hutts were kind enough to gift me a few requested ysalamir in addition to the armor I needed. However, the other three can be added to my plan. They will be without the Force, and Jysella strikes me as a very loving child. I'm sure she wouldn't want anything… unfortunate to happen to her father or friends."

Amia shook her head in disgust. "I'm not going to be able to reason with you, am I?" She stood as tall and defiantly as she dared. "I'm afraid, Thea, we are at an impasse. I won't join you in reviving Dominion. Not like this."

Thea's knowing smile made Amia's shoulders droop and her heart drop. "Don't worry, child, I expected as much. You've learned so many new things in a short amount of time. It will take a bit to get used to. However, I am confident you will see my way. After all, my young little ones may be my legacy, but you will be my heiress." With that, Thea turned to the young woman with the curly brown hair and gave a curt nod. Before Amia could comprehend the signal, the girl acted with lightning speed and sent Amia into a world of blackness.


	14. Chapter 14

Kyp Durron regained consciousness first, slowly and painfully. His eyes felt much too heavy. It took all his focus to will them open. _I've been drugged,_ he thought hazily.

One eyelid opened slowly, then the other. Despite the numbing effect of whatever had been pumped into him, his body felt like it had wrestled with a Barabel and lost sorely. Everything hurt.

Kyp reached out to the Force in an attempt to call on a healing trance and found…. nothing. The Force was gone. Clearly, their captor had taken precautions. _We're going to have to do this the hard way,_ he thought to himself dryly.

He focused on wiggling one toe, then another. Good, he wasn't paralyzed. He then focused on flexing muscles up his legs, through his torso, and around his arms and hands. He immediately became aware of every bruise and gash. However, he was alive, nothing seemed missing or mangled, and he was awake. Considering the foes they faced, he was relieved to be alive.

He decided to count his situation as an overall win.

Carefully, he moved his head to the side. The drugs made him feel swimmy and his head immediately flared up with a storm of pain. He clenched his eyes back shut and stopped moving. For a moment, he thought he might be sick. However, the feeling subsided. He carefully opened his eyes once more.

He saw Luke, Mara and Corran next to him. They appeared to still be unconscious, most likely also drugged. Additionally, they appeared to be in the same wretched condition he was.

Next, he directed his attention to the room they were in. The lighting was thankfully dim. He was pretty sure his brain might explode if the lights were any brighter. The cell was fairly large, but severe looking. If properly sterilized, it would make for a superb medical room, or laboratory.

Kyp turned his head back to its original position. Recovery was going to take time, especially without the aid of the Force. Shutting his eyes once more, he once more focused on control of his muscles and began the tedious process of regaining control of his body.


	15. Chapter 15

Amia Vellan wasn't sure if she was dreaming. She vaguely remembered a nightmarish scenario where she was trapped in a laboratory with some freaky little girls and a great aunt who was supposed to be dead. Now, she was walking through a happy little world. The colors were bright. Little flowers were painted on the walls. There were smiling children, playing around her. She felt elated, like she was floating. Was that a cake baking that she smelled? How wonderful! She must be home. What other place in the galaxy could feel so right?

Despite her confusion, Amia giggled. She felt herself sway on her feet. My goodness, was she drunk? She looked around hazily for that bottle of Whyren's Reserve. Old Whyren's was more often than not the root of this feeling.

No, no, that wasn't quite right. This was more than drunkenness. Amia pondered this happily, flippantly, as she half floated, half staggered her way through her newfound paradise.

Why were those children moving so fast? Amia turned to watch them fly past and nearly fell over. She laughed at her own clumsiness. Turning her head back forward, she found a woman standing in front of her.

She was smiling so pleasantly. "_Hello, there, lady!_" thought Amia. Her hair was silver like starlight. Her smile seemed so warm, so very familiar. Had they met before?

Had they met before…

Had… they? Amia's mind swam. Darkness crept in at the edge of her vision. Amia shook her head free. No! No darkness here. This place is magical and warm!

The lovely lady with the starlight hair said something. Amia cocked her head to the side. What was that, now? She felt like she was hearing the echo of her voice at the end of a long tunnel.

"How are you feeling?" asked the lady with the starlight hair once more.

Amia donned a stupid grin and swayed again. How was she feeling? Simply incredible. Amia thought she said as much, but her voice sounded… so odd. Were those words she uttered in Basic or Huttese? They didn't make sense, even to her own ears. Amia laughed. How silly, she couldn't tell what was what anymore.

"Excellent," said the woman. "I am glad you are enjoying my… hospitality. Soon, you will learn to love Dominion as I have. You will live my way."

Dominion.

Her way?

THEA. HER NAME WAS THEA.

WAIT A MINUTE.

WAIT. A. MINUITE.

Amia staggered backwards, darkness creeping into her vision once more. This time, she latched onto it, and she began to see. The girls wore tattered clothing. Her bright colors were gray around the edges.

The lady with the starlight hair had madness in her eyes.

This was her nightmare.

_No._

This was reality! _She had to get out._

Amia willed her body to turn, to run, but it moved as if she was sloshing through a meter of water. The little girls parted out of her way. They were no longer smiling, no longer playing. They simply stood and watched. Amia shook her head, trying to rid herself of the dream world that had been occupying her perceptions. The colors were now streaked and garish. The room was spinning. Sounds seemed both harshly loud and yet so far away. The smell of cake had turned rancid in her nostrils. Amia jerked away from a phantom, a hallucination, and her shoulder hit the wall hard.

What was real? Where was she running to? What was wrong with her head?

She pushed herself away from the wall and staggered again. She didn't know where she was going, only that she had to leave….

She felt a thin, taught arm catch her around the neck and pull her backwards. Suddenly, fire exploded in her abdomen. Amia looked down and caught sight of a slender, almost skeletal hand holding a syringe. The needle was deep in Amia's gut. Almost as soon as it had hit, the syringe pulled out and the arm around her neck released.

Amia fell to the ground. Her vision blurred. It felt like a million stinging fire gnats were crawling under her skin. Amia screamed and rolled onto her back. Thea stood above her syringe in hand. Hair that once was starlight fell around her face like a hood, gray and lifeless.

Amia tried to form words, but they came out as jibberish. She screamed again in frustration, writhing in the dirty floor. The girls walked up to stand around her. Amia could see their small forms gather.

Thea waved the syringe in hand. "Retreat back into the drugs I gave you. They will ease you through the process."

That magical, colorful world was still there in the back of Amia's mind. It wanted in, wanted to make everything right again. How wonderful it would feel to relax, to accept it…

"No!" Amia screamed. This time, she was pretty sure she successfully said the word.

Thea shook her head and made a "tisk tisk" sound. "You see, my darlings," she said, addressing the girls, "this is what happens when you do not follow my directions."

The fire gnats under Amia's skin were beginning to fade, their stinging sensation leaving her numb. Her muscles felt both exhausted and revitalized. Even the pain from small hole left by the syringe began drift away.

"Wha…" Amia started. "Whaaaa…."

"What did I do to you?" finished Thea. "It is more of a question of what I did _for_ you. You see, child, if you are to be the Dominion heiress, you must also have the same warrior blood."

Amia felt herself grow cold with panic. This woman gave her the same thing as her little monsters? Thea was trying to turn her into just another faceless minion!

"You are now three times as strong," continued Thea. "And you heal five times as fast. And that, child, was after only one treatment!"

Rage filled Amia. She decided to test the old woman's claims. Despite still being hazy and drugged, she used her anger to enhance her new strength and rearing up, she willed herself towards Thea, hands ready to crush her neck.

And found herself suspended halfway through her lunge.

Enraged, Amia roared and fought against her restraints. She turned her head around and found that the teenage girl with the curly brown hair was once again holding her back. However, to Amia's satisfaction, she was having a more difficult time. Amia viciously turned her gaze back towards Thea.

Thea taunted her while she was restrained. Leaning in close, she said "I said you were stronger, child, not as strong as you could be just yet. You have a long way to go."

Thea turned to the girl with the brown curls. "Take her back to her room. Give her a double dose of the sedative."

Amia found herself being half dragged down the hallway. She waited until Thea was out of sight. Stubborn, and still taller than the teenager, Amia relaxed completely in the girl's grip. Now a dead weight, the girl tripped over Amia and temporarily released her hold.

It was as good a chance as Amia was going to get.

Pushing off from her captor, Amia got on her feet and raced as fast as she could. The new serum seemed to be counteracting the sedative and she was no longer stumbling like a drunken fool. Angry and stronger, Amia raced down the hall. She bulldozed through Thea, hitting the woman with one shoulder and letting her bounce hard into the opposite wall. Twenty seconds earlier, she would have attacked the woman outright. Now, she had a new goal in mind.

Amia reached the end of the hall and hit the door control panel to the main lab. Using her voice recognition code, the door swooshed away. Amia immediately locked it down, using the emergency setting. Turning away from the door, she spied her prize.

The prototype armor was still on display.

If she was going to succeed in getting out of here, she was going to need more than some extra strength. She was going to need thicker skin and something more than her fingernails to claw her way though.

Amia scrambled up onto the display and began throwing the armor onto her body. As she attached pieces, the suit automatically formed itself tightly around her and sealed. At last, she reached for the helmet. She turned it in her hands and looked at it.

Faceless, it seemed so completely inhuman. Did she dare put on the last piece? Amia wondered briefly if this was what Thea wanted all along. Was the suit a trap? Once sealed, would it ever release her?

Amia hopped down from the platform, helmet still in hand. She ran to the monitoring displays that showed live footage of every cell in the lab.

The Jedi were in the same cell. They looked like they had seen better days, but they appeared to all be conscious. They were working at the door, searching for a way out.

Amia searched out another monitor. There! The girl that had to be Corran's daughter was asleep on a small cot. Good, she still had time to help.

Suddenly, the door to the lab was beeping with an activation code. Thea was going to get through, and with her, her little curly haired protégé. As soon as that door opened, there was going to be a fight.

There was no longer time for precautions. Taking a deep breath, Amia took the helmet in her hands, lifted it up, and over her head.

The helmet sealed.

For a moment, everything was dark and silent. Amia couldn't see and she couldn't breathe.

Before she could panic, the helmet turned on. Inside, air flow started, and a well lit display appeared right in front of her eyes. She could not only see the room, but the corridors beyond, and the life form signatures of all of the people around her.

The lab door began to swoosh aside.

_Weapons! I need weapons!_

Amia lunged for a series of antiquated blasters on the other side of the room. She was certain they were state of the art when Dominion was first formed. She picked up one, then saw a silver glint beneath the shelf. Leaning down, Amia discovered four lightsabers.

Score.

Amia glanced back. Thea was having difficulty overriding the door. It was still only partially opened. Hastily, Amia fastened the four lightsabers onto her suit's belt. Hoisting the blaster, Amia prepared for an assault.

The door finally _swooshed_ aside. No one was there.

Amia stood in confusion. Lowering the blaster, she used the suit's enhanced vision capabilities. There, another slender faceless warrior stood, behind, it seemed, two walls. Even knowing where the girl stood, the blaster would do no good with that much solid durasteel in the way. Amia grew nervous. Why was she way over there?

Suddenly, the lights in the lab went out completely. Amia's suit went black for a few precious moments, then slowly adjusted to the zero light. However, two seconds of distraction was all the girl with the curly brown hair needed. Amia's faceplate returned to life to show her a booted foot hurling towards her chest.

The kick connected. Amia was sent flying across the lab, slid across a table, her body breaking glass and equipment along the way. Her blaster was knocked free from her grip and tumbled out of reach. Amia finally fell off the far end of the table and landed with a heavy thud amongst the shards. Shocked, she lay there for a moment. She took a deep breath in and out. Despite the hell of a kick the girl delivered, the armor held and Amia suffered no damage.

The girl was on top of Amia again before she could fully collect herself. Amia rolled out of the way just in time as the girl drove a rusted lab pipe into the durasteel where Amia's head once lay. Wasting no time, the girl ripped the pipe free from the floor with a sickening screech and brought it down again, two handed and with immense strength, on top of Amia.

Ripping one of the lightsabers from her belt, Amia gripped the weapon tightly and managed to trigger the activation switch. The blade connected with the pipe as it descended and sliced it into two, the molten end of the metal flipping wildly away. Amia swung wildly with the lightsaber at the girl's armored legs. The young warrior jumped agilely away, allowing enough time for Amia to find her feet once more.

The two women momentarily faced each other warily, lightsaber still in Amia's grip. The girl with the curly hair was the first to move.

Nimbly flipping over an over-turned lab table, the girl grabbed two of the antiquated blasters and hoisted them waist level. Circling the room, she pulled the triggers, and a barrage of firepower came streaming at Amia.

In a delusion of grandeur, Amia held the lightsaber up defensively. As the bolts hit her square in the torso, she had a moment of sudden clarity. Turns out operating a lightsaber is not as easy as the holos make it look. The bolts don't automatically deflect off.

Amia once again hit the floor and slid two meters on her back. This time, it was painfully so. A back cabinet halted her slide none too gently and crumpled from the impact. She looked down at her armor. The multiple shots had succeeded in destroying a crucial piece of the prototype suit. Clearly this suit wasn't as strong as the stuff the others got. Amia's skin along her midriff was burned and exposed.

Painfully, she rose back up to her feet and immediately wished she had stayed on the ground.

The girl appeared in front of her once again and launched a right hook into Amia's exposed gut. Amia let out a shriek of pain and crumpled to the ground. The lightsaber fell from her hand and deactivated. She felt like that punch had reached straight through her and twisted her spine.

Miserable, Amia started to slink away along the ground. The girl leisurely walked up after her and delivered a kick that rocketed her to the other side of the room. Amia hit another shelving unit, back first, and demolished one of its supports with the impact of her body. The heavy shelf, lined with boxes and boxes of some sort of industrial supplies, teetered dangerously above her.

Amia was in so much pain, she wondered if she should just give it up. She wondered if this girl had been given orders to kill her. In a way, Amia sort of hoped so. She brought her legs up slowly and lay on the ground where she had landed, fetal position. A lightsaber still attached to her belt got in the way and mashed up into her abdomen wound. Stars, she didn't realize she was capable of feeling additional pain. Reaching down shakily, she ripped the weapon out of the way. From her faceplate, she could see the younger warrior approach her for the kill.

The girl stopped to grab a sharp, metal shard from the floor. Amia knew immediately that she was going to impale her. Amia's heartbeat quickened. She really didn't want to die…

The girl approached her again, makeshift weapon in hand. She raised the shard above Amia, preparing for the killing thrust.

Amia turned her head away, unable to watch. Her helmet refocused. She could see the other lower support for the shelving unit that teetered above her. Her body had completely destroyed one. The other support was stressed, on the verge of breaking. The shelving unit was clearly very heavy.

Amia's grip tightened on the lightsaber. If she was going to die, she was going to do her best to take that other bitch with her, too.

Amia activated the blade and thrust it into the support. Barely standing as it was, the support cracked immediately from the intense heat of the lightsaber. The shelving unit buckled, falling forward over Amia completely and crashing solidly on the other girl. The shelving had been so large and so ready to give into gravity that the younger woman didn't have time to move.

Counting to three and letting the dust settle, Amia finally raised herself up to examine the extent of the damage. The girl wasn't moving. Only her lower legs stuck out from the toppled heavy shelf and supplies. Amia picked herself up painfully.

She looked down at her middle and found that her body was already healing. "Thanks, Thea," Amia mumbled. At least the advanced healing part of this situation was good.

Amia reattached the lightsaber to her belt and limped across the room to retrieve the fourth one she had to discard during the fight. Part of her lamented that she had to fight the younger woman to this point, but Amia supposed it was going to have to be done eventually if they were going to escape. She hoped desperately she could release the Jedi before the next attack came.

Staggering slightly, Amia picked her way carefully across the debris-filled room, glancing back twice along the way to make sure the girl with the curly brown hair was still unmoving. Amia wished she still had the middle piece of her armor. At least the helmet was still working. Oddly though, it didn't seem like anyone was around. Amia shook her head, suspicious, and grew immediately nervous. She picked up a blaster again and held it across her injured middle. She hoped four lightsabers and a blaster would get her far enough. Finally, she made it back to the door. Taking a deep breath, she hit the door control.

The door _swooshed_ aside again. There was nothing but silence. Carefully but quickly, Amia made her way down the hall. She hoped the Jedi were ready for action. She didn't trust this silence at all. Counting off doors, she found the one cell she was looking for.

This door panel took some extra finagling. Even with her voice recognition code, it proved a challenge. Snorting with frustration, Amia finally grabbed a lightsaber and groped for the activation switch. She couldn't help but feel she was quickly running out of time. Suddenly, the silvery blade ignited with a _snap-hiss_. Amia took the blade and plunged it into the access panel viciously. The panel sparked, then the door reluctantly gave way.

Amia burst into the room clumsily, blade still in her hand. Immediately, she felt confused. There were no Jedi.

"You seem a little short for a faceless monster," remarked a voice behind her.

Amia turned around suddenly, still a little disoriented in her new helmet. "Huh? Oh…" she said, using her left hand to remove the helmet. "Yeah, that's cute. Something tells me you didn't come up with that line, either."

Luke chuckled. "Fair enough. I might have heard a version of it before."

Without the helmet, Amia suddenly became very aware of the darkness they were still in. The injuries on her four old companions didn't look half bad in the dim light of the lightsaber. The Jedi were pressed against the wall where the door was, makeshift weapons in hand.

Amia cocked her head to the side, realization hitting her. "Wait a minute, you guys were lined up for an ambush. What stopped you from attacking me? I had the helmet on and everything."

Kyp was the first to respond. "You wear that suit as comfortably as Barabel would wear a Hapan ball gown. You ever heard of stealth? We heard you stagger down the hall. Also, you still have the safety on your blaster, you're waving my lightsaber around like a toy and you're-"

"Alright, okay, I get it!" cried Amia. "Stars, I thought you people would appreciate a rescue."

"We do," remarked Mara. "But seriously, have you ever been in a fight in your life?"

"Are you kidding?" Amia glanced down at her exposed middle, ready to point out her recent battle wounds. However, all she found was smooth skin. She patted her middle. Nope, no pain either. She looked up at the Jedi dumbfounded. They returned her stare with arched eyebrows and amusement. Amia didn't even know what to say. Corran didn't wait for her to find the words.

He approached her, one hand out. "Thanks for the rescue. Let's have those lightsabers." He plucked his weapon from Amia's belt and turned to the other Jedi. "Let's go finish this."

The other three Jedi approached her. Luke and Mara also took their weapons. Mara, helpfully, clicked off the safety on Amia's blaster. "Now," she said dryly, "try not to point it at our backs."

Amia rolled her eyes and gave Mara a nod. "I got it," she remarked.

Luke, Mara and Corran crept up to the door of their cell and began to examine the hallway beyond, using their lightsabers for a light source.

Kyp was the last to approach Amia. He simply extended a hand towards her and waited.

"Oh, right," said Amia. Blade still ignited, she handed the silvery weapon over.

"Thanks," he said. "And seriously, what's with the midriff armor suit? You going for a 'Summer Battle on Mon Calamari' look?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Amia chuckled. It certainly felt good to be among allies again. "I learned the hard way I'm not very skilled with a lightsaber." As she thought of her battle against the younger warrior, her face fell. "Speaking of, we should probably get going. If I'm feeling better already, I know someone else is too."

Without further explanation, Kyp nodded and led the way. "Let's catch up. This time, let's not get separated."

Amia grimaced in guilt, remembering how she had previously abandoned her Jedi companions. "About that…"

A screech echoed from elsewhere in the facility. Kyp raised his hand in silence. "Not right now," he hissed. He grabbed Amia by the hand and pulled her after him towards the other three Jedi.

Amia shook her head. "Why is there never time?"

"We need to get Jysella and get clear of the effects of the ysalamir," called Luke. "Let's go!"

The five of them raced down the hall, still using their lightsabers for light. As promised, Amia kept her blaster pointed down for now.

"Which door is Jysella?" asked Corran from the front.

Amia took a moment to think, then pointed. "That one!" she called excitedly. They were so close now! Soon, they could all get out of here.

Corran jammed his lightsaber into the door panel and forced the door aside. However, the room contained nothing but disappointment. Where the girl should have been lay only an empty cot.

Corran walked all the way into the small cell, made a full circle, found no child and returned outside in a fury. He punched the wall next to him in anger with a force that made Amia jump. "Where is she?" he bellowed in rage.

As if in response, a small sound echoed further from down the hallway. It sounded like a child's voice.

Wasting no time, Corran sprinted after the sound.

"Wait, Corran!" called Luke, running to keep up. Mara followed after, and once again Kyp grabbed Amia's hand and pulled her after them. It was all Amia could do to keep up, even with her armor suit's enhancements.

At an intersection, Corran halted. The other four came to a stop beside him. They strained their ears and listened.

Again, a small voice echoed from one direction.

Corran took off at a sprint once again. Amia groaned, then felt herself get tugged once again in the same direction. The Jedi and Amia raced another 300 meters down the corridor in the darkness.

Finally, the chase ended in a giant, empty chamber. The four lightsabers were no longer sufficient to pierce the darkness of the immense room. The Jedi inched forward, warily, lightsabers raised at the ready. Kyp finally let go of Amia to get a better two handed grip on his weapon. Except for the thrum of the blades, the room was silent, dark.

Amia suddenly wished she hadn't dropped her helmet in favor of the blaster. When Kyp had grabbed her and pulled her along for their trip after Corran, she had completely forgotten about it. Now, she sorely missed the enhanced night vision it had provided. Nerves tingling, Amia hoisted the blaster a little higher. She was walking behind the four Jedi as they made their cautious approach into the dark unknown.

A breaker buzzed in the distance. One by one, emergency lights began to illuminate the room in a sea of red light. Standing in the center of the room, fifty meters away, stood Thea. Beside her and behind her stood rows of the faceless armored warriors. The Jedi immediately tensed. Before, they had fallen to the onslaught of these monsters. Now, they faced easily ten times as many.

Amia's breath caught in her throat. She expected Thea's army to charge them. She waited, tense and wide eyed for the showdown to begin, blaster trembling in her hands. However, they stood silently in their rows, half hunched in the dim red light. None of them moved. It was if they had fallen asleep standing up. Amia realized she had been holding her breath and forced herself to start breathing again.

Thea was the first to move. Slowly, she slipped her right hand into her pocket. She looked miniscule and frail next to her rows of soldiers. As she withdrew her hand, something small sat neatly in her palm. She raised it above her head and showed it to the Jedi. Metallic and round at the edges, it appeared to be some kind of remote.

"I give you a choice," she called across the distance. Her voice carried above the buzz of the lights and the Jedi weapons. "You can run. Minimize the mess. Escape with your lives and tell your companions of the death that awaits them," she paused to gesture at her warriors, "if they should return." Thea began to walk among the rows of faceless fighters. "The second choice," she started again, her voice now more malicious, "is to face what stands before you." Her thumb moved on the remote and hovered above a single button. "This time, you will not survive."

Thea moved her gaze from Corran to Amia. Even at a distance, her crazed gaze seemed piercing. Amia felt ice form in her stomach. Clearly, the old woman was not finished with her. Thea continued to move through the ranks, in silence, approaching the far side of the room.

Amia tore her eyes away from Thea's gaze and looked at the Jedi. They had yet to respond. It was if they were somehow communicating between each other silently. Amia still felt Thea's gaze on the side of her face.

Finally, Kyp half turned his head backwards towards Amia. He uttered a single word for her under his breath.

"_Go._"

Chaos erupted in a fraction of a second. The four Jedi split and charged, lightsabers raised towards the challenge. Hands raised forward, Luke and Kyp sent an immense Force wave towards the lines of warriors, toppling the first two rows into the ones behind them.

"_Are they INSANE?"_ Amia thought frantically. For a moment, she watched them charge madly into battle. She hesitated, unsure of which way to move. Finally, she turned back towards the hall to run. She took three frantic steps, then stopped in her tracks.

Wait, maybe there was something she could do other than run like a coward. In a moment of self-pity, she suddenly wished Kyp had told her which way, exactly, he wanted her to 'go.'"

Amia turned back to face the battle just in time to watch Thea disappear through a side door. The Jedi were fully engaged with the masses of Thea's warriors now. They seemed to be faring better now that they had their previous encounter under their belts, but she knew the advantage could not last forever. Not when the numbers were so skewed. She had to do something, but she wasn't trained for battle. Mustering her courage and hoping she wouldn't get herself killed in the process, Amia sprinted after Thea. It was the only logical thing she could do.

The warriors all headed off in directions that were not Amia. For the moment she counted it as a blessing. As she reached the door Thea had disappeared into, she suspected they might have parted ways because they were ordered to. Did Thea Vellan want her to follow? Was this a trap?

Too late now. Amia was committed.

Activating the door, she followed Thea inside.

Another hallway lay inside, this one red lit like the room before it. Amia raced ahead, not quite sure how she was going to be able to find Thea in this labyrinth. Deeper she traveled until she could no longer hear the battle behind her.

Finally, a small object on the floor caught her eye. It seemed to be a tiny metal seal with the Dominion crest. It seemed foreign in nature, like it may have come off of one of the strange armor suits. Amia raised her right arm and noticed the same sort of emblem on her prototype suit's shoulder.

Taking the small emblem as a sign, Amia turned to the door next to her and hit the activation button. The door slid aside. It had been left unlocked.

Beyond the door she found a room unlike the others they had encountered in Dominion. This one was smaller in scale and looked more lived in, comfortable. More like a home. The furniture was still upscale, but it wasn't dusty. Instead, it seemed worn from use. Pictures and holos lined the walls, but they were not showy like the exhibit she explored with Luke and Mara in the basement of her Coruscant property. No, these were family moments. Stacks of flimsi and datapads lay in piles on tables. They seemed to be some sort of research. On the far side of the room, a large painting of a family stood prominently, lit from above. A plaque on the bottom read "Vellan." There were several members posed. Amia noticed, much to her astonishment, that she recognized her father. He was a child, but it was him, she was sure.

"You belong here," a quiet voice said behind Amia. With a gasp, Amia turned quickly to find its source. Thea sat in a chair near the door, shrouded in the shadows.

The old woman tossed something. Warm light glinted off its metal casing. Amia reached out and caught it instinctively. Turning it over in her hands, she realized it was the remote Thea had been holding earlier.

In shock and confusion, Amia looked back up at Thea.

Thea nodded. "Yes, you can stop the onslaught on the Jedi. But before you jump to hit the deactivation button, I want you to consider what you are throwing away."

Amia held her thumb over the most prominent button, then hesitated. Suspiciously, she looked at Thea. "Why are you doing this? Why give me the power?"

Thea sat quietly as if she didn't hear the questions. Amia stirred in agitation. The Jedi could be out there, dying! "Why are you doing this?" Amia demanded again. Would activating the switch really call off the faceless warriors? Or would it do something terrible that Thea would pin on Amia?

"There's no trick to it," responded Thea evenly. "How long have you known the Jedi? Hours? Maybe a day? You sympathize with Corran Horn and his daughter, but would you throw away the power you hold in your hand to save them? A gift like Dominion is what you came to Coruscant seeking. It could be luxurious. You have renovation droids already at your disposal. I had shut down the ones that came too close to my secrets, but they are not damaged. Your little Coruscant property is nothing compared to the city we stand in. Dominion could be renovated. Trades with powerful allies are in place. In addition to its luxury, would have an army of warriors here. No one would dare dispute your claim on Dominion. With my research, you would have unheard of strength and healing. With proper use, the suit would render you invincible. The Republic would be forced to reckon with you. With your might, they would be forced to negotiate with you. Investors would flock to you. Imagine, your own city in the heart of the city planet."

Amia swallowed. She had a point. To be independently wealthy and make her mark on Coruscant was the dream that brought her here to the first place. Her hand twitched around the remote. Her thumb hovered over the button shakily. Her morals clashed against the promise of the life of a Coruscant queen.

Thea watched in silence.

Finally, Amia shook her head. "Thea, I can't have their blood on my hands." Amia hit the button firmly. She listened intently for a moment, but didn't hear a thing. She had no way to tell if it had worked or not.

Thea gave Amia a sad, yet knowing smile. "Yes, I understand."

That response took Amia by surprise. "You… do?"

Thea got up and opened some sort of flask, pouring a small drink. With one motion, she drained the glass and set it down heavily.

"Keep the remote," Thea said. "It will be the only way to access Dominion… if you should return. I'm going to lock it down for good. I suggest you run. There is a transport on the other side of the large chamber you came from. The children are there with the Jedi girl. Take the Jedi with you on the way out, if there are any left." She waved a hand in their direction, flippantly.

"What about you?" demanded Amia.

Thea laughed, but it was short and choked. "I've already taken care of that. You are the last of our line in Dominion."

Amia's eyes widened. She watched as Thea swayed on her feet, then looked back at the flask. The old woman had poisoned herself! Already, her body was failing. She stumbled heavily and grasped for a side table. Shaking, the small table toppled, spilling the items stacked on top, along with Thea Vellan, to the floor. She fell face down and didn't move.

Amia's mind raced. In a matter of seconds, everything had changed. She could hear the heavy sounds of machinery move throughout the city of Dominion. Heavy doors began moving, over entryways. Even from a distance, she heard them rumble slowly and began to seal with a _hiss_, like a last sigh. Thea lie before her, dead, and the city was about to eat her alive as well.

_"Move!"_ she thought to herself. Slapping the door release, she sprinted once again down the hallway, back towards the Jedi. She prayed that Thea had told her the truth and that there was still a way out of this mess. Even as she sprinted, she heard the city continue to close in on itself, becoming impenetrable.

She reached the final door and prepared for the worst. Did the Jedi last the battle? She wondered, selfishly, if she would be able to pilot whatever transport Thea had left for her without their piloting skills. Immediately, she chastised herself, and worked to convince herself that she honestly wished them well.

She activated the door and it moved aside.

The scene before her disconcerted her more than their dead bodies would have. As promised, Thea's remote had rendered the faceless warriors inert once more. They were no longer in their rows. They seemed to have stopped suddenly, frozen in mid-battle. However, and what Amia found most alarming, was the fact that there were no signs of the Jedi. The room was still bathed in red and once again eerily silent.

Amia remembered Thea's words. _There's a transport on the other side…_

Amia broke out in a sprint once more, weaving through the frozen warriors. There! A small door stood at the other end of the chamber.

The lock mechanism had been damaged, burned through. Amia's heart leaped. The damage had to been inflicted by lightsaber. The Jedi came through here!

Wait. What if they were leaving on the transport?

Amia panicked. She had betrayed them once. Would they do the same to her? Were they capable of leaving her behind? She imagined that if Corran had found his daughter and saw the city close down around them, he wouldn't hesitate to get her to safety. Would they write her off, chalk her up to another victim of Dominion? Her heart quickened, angry with these thoughts. She pounded two fists upon the door in frustration. As she pulled her fists away, she saw two indents left behind in the durasteel door.

Of course! The suit added to her strength, even damaged. Aided by the paranoid anger still rushing through her veins, Amia grabbed a hold of the door and viciously, manually lifted it up and out of the way. Its gears screeched, groaned from the pressure, and finally snapped. The door slid completely away and Amia was through. What a rush! She suddenly felt unstoppable. Curling her hands into fists, she plunged ahead.

Half way down the corridor, she heard the whine of repulsorlifts.

They were leaving her! Livid and heartbroken at the same time, she reached the last door. Fueled by emotion, she once again removed the heavy slab of durasteel by force. She shoved her gloved hands through the durasteel, armored suit taking the brunt of the assault and lending its tremendous strength. The door crumpled to her will. She tossed it behind her in anger.

She turned back around to find a shocked Kyp Durron standing in front of her. Behind him, the transport whined and lifted two meters from the floor, its entrance ramp still lowered. It hovered, waiting. Amia turned her attention back towards Kyp, confused.

"Thanks for meeting me," he said. "I was just coming to find you." He looked at the crumpled door Amia had discarded. "You're certainly angry. I take it you found Thea."

Amia's anger diminished completely. For a moment, she felt sheepish for thinking they would be so callous as to abandon her. Words rushed through her mind, but none seemed right.

Kyp seemed to recognize her rush of emotions and thoughts. He spared her the words and simply broke the moment with an extension of a helping hand. "Let's go, Amia."

Amia looked into his eyes and found no betrayal. These people were not like Thea. She took his hand and they headed quickly for the extended ramp. They hopped on board. Amia saw Mara standing near the ramp. She hit the controls and the ramp began to rise. "Welcome back," she greeted.

"Luke, let's go!" Kyp called towards the cockpit. He was guiding Amia by the hand in the opposite direction, towards benches with safety restraints. Amia felt the transport move beneath her. They were rising up. Rounding the corner, Amia saw all of the Dominion girls, including Corran's daughter Jysella, strapped in for the ride. Kyp pulled Amia to an empty seat, then had to catch a hold of the wall as the movement of the ship made him stagger backwards. Mara was already strapping herself in on the other side of the children. Amia decided it would be smart to do the same. The restraints were tight, but she managed to get them over her damaged armor. Kyp was the last in his seat. He strapped in just in time. The ride suddenly became bumpier.

The children squealed as the transport banked sharply. Amia heard Corran curse from the cockpit and she assumed he had to be co-piloting.

"I hate not being the one flying," Mara commented. Raising her voice, she called to Luke and Corran. "What are you two doing up there?"

"Hang on; it's going to be tight!" Luke called back.

The transport bucked again, then seemed to hit something big. The entire ship lurched like never before, throwing Amia sharply into her restraints. She was thankful her armoring still covered her chest. Otherwise, the restraint straps would have probably bruised her. Children screamed. Something big thudded outside, seemed to drag, then suddenly pulled itself free with a sickening sound. Amia winced, then looked up to find Kyp opposite her, making the same face from his seat.

"Woo!" came the ecstatic call from the cockpit. "We're out! Hang tight, everyone, next stop is home!"

There was cheering from the passengers, but Amia simply sighed in relief. Placing her head back against the seat, she closed her eyes, exhaustion finally setting in with her liberation. She had never been so glad in her life to hear the promise of home.


	16. Chapter 16

Two days later, Amia Vellan sat in her Coruscant apartment. From her oversized-window in her main living area, she could see a sliver of the Jedi Temple peeking through the maze of Coruscant skyline. She considered it as she sipped her evening glass of Whyren's Reserve. Inside, construction and renovation droids worked tirelessly to repair the damage that had been left after one of Thea's faceless warriors had chased Amia and the Skywalkers out of the apartment. Amia considered, dryly, that it was the one good thing about not having any tenants. She could make as much noise as she pleased at whatever hour she wanted. At this rate, repairs and renovations would be completed in only a few days and she could return to her endeavor of finding investors and renters. Without Thea causing trouble, she had no doubt business would be good from here on out.

After escaping Dominion, they had arrived at the Jedi Temple. A woman and a small boy that Amia assumed had to be Corran's wife and son swept both he and Jysella in a fierce hug. The woman then gave Corran a good smack for running off on his own. Amia had noted, with some amusement, that that probably wouldn't be the last Corran would hear of it. However, the family seemed certainly happy to be together again.

While the Horns had their reunion, Amia had filled in the Skywalkers on what had happened when she faced Thea. Well, most of it anyway. She left out the part where, for a brief moment, she had considered the old woman's offer. Additionally, she failed to mention that the remote to Dominion still sat hidden in her suit pocket. If the Skywalkers sensed she was leaving anything out, they didn't show it. With Thea pronounced dead and the city sealed, they considered Dominion a closed case.

The Dominion girls were ushered into the care of Cilghal and Tionne. Cilghal was confident that she could work to reverse whatever alterations Thea had begun and Tionne began preparations to find the orphans new homes. Amia had no doubt that they would be well taken care of from here on out. Some of them may even be lucky enough to be Force sensitive and train at the temple.

Kyp had offered Amia a ride back home. She had accepted, thankful that she wouldn't have to ride public transportation in her broken suit of prototype armor. They had used his yellow speeder. Amia was certain it was his own and not temple property. It seemed more flashy than Jedi-like. The short ride over had been quiet, for the most part. He navigated Coruscant traffic expertly, as a seasoned pilot would, and had parked the speeder on her building's landing pad.

"Are you going to be okay?" he had asked before she could get out. She turned to regard him, hand on the door. He had had a strange look on his face. It was concern, but it was almost even… suspicion.

Amia had given him a big smile she didn't feel. "I'm tired, and I have a lot to think through. I'll be okay though. I, uh, appreciate the ride."

Kyp's expression hadn't changed, but he gave her a nod and let her climb out. He waited until she had entered her pass code and the exterior building door slid aside. She walked inside and the door slid shut again behind her. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he pulled away and navigated the speeder back towards the temple. She had watched him go from the small transparisteel panel in the door. She let out the breath she had been holding as his speeder flew out of sight. Why did Kyp give her that look before she left?

She had had to use the emergency stair well to climb back to her floor since the turbolift was out. When she had arrived back at her apartment, she was glad Kyp had not escorted her inside.

Thea had been busy before she died. A gift had been left for her.

The thought of the gift brought her mind back to the moment. Amia swirled her glass and tore her gaze away from the distant Jedi temple. The Whyren's was warm on her lips and the alcohol made her flush. It felt like an internal blanket. She was thankful for the small comfort. Getting up from her couch, she walked around to the back of the room to regard Thea's final contribution.

Partially concealed in a closet was a new set of Dominion armor and vials of the formula used for enhanced strength and healing. Amia assumed Thea had it sent up while she and the Jedi were unconscious and drugged. Amia wasn't sure what to do with it. Her first instinct was to get rid of it, but the promise of its power restrained her hand.

Amia glanced over at her ornate side table that sat next to the closet. She had tossed the Dominion remote upon it. With it, she could open the hidden city again. Thea may have shut Dominion down, but she left Amia all of the keys. It would be so easy, so accessible…

She sipped the Whyren's again and found her gaze returned to the Jedi Temple beyond her window pane. Kyp's parting expression was still vivid in her memory. Did he suspect that she had kept these things? What would the Jedi do if they knew she still had all this?

Amia shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She picked up the small remote and placed it in the closet with the suit and the vials, then shut the door. A day may come when she had to face the monster in her closet, but for now, she decided to be content with her drink. Returning to her post on the couch, she pulled her long legs underneath her and tried to forget the lingering memories of the Jedi Master's knowing stare.


	17. Chapter 17

"You know she's hiding something," Kyp stated. He sat across from Luke Skywalker, a modest desk area between them. Luke may have been the Grand Master, but his office certainly did not show it. For the most part, it was bare and the furniture was simple. The shelving units held mostly holocrons. The most personal item in the room was a holo that cycled through pictures of the Skywalker/Solo family.

Luke sipped something that smelled like warm chocolate and nodded his head as he swallowed. Before he could verbalize a response, Kyp continued.

"Waiting until something happens may be too late," Kyp insisted, leaning forward in his seat. His long, dark hair was tied back behind him with the ribbon he originally got from Amia Vellan. "If Amia still has connections to Dominion, or if any of those faceless things is still awake, she could still be in trouble. That means trouble for us, too."

"That's where we disagree," said Luke. "Even if Amia took souvenirs home with her, I don't sense any danger left from the situation. Amia was content to return home. She displayed confusion, sadness, yes. Betrayal and anger too after confronting Thea. But after her ordeal, those are natural. I don't sense darkness looming on the horizon from Dominion or threatening Amia. Do you? Honestly?"

Kyp sighed and leaned back once again into his chair. His gaze shifted from Luke to the transparisteel window behind him. All but dwarfed by the Coruscant skyscrapers around it, Amia Vellan's property barely peeked out. Kyp remembered the mixed emotions in Amia when he dropped her off. He couldn't shake the feeling she was hiding something, but she didn't strike him as one who would needlessly court danger. "No darkness," agreed Kyp after some time. "But I still think she shouldn't be left alone. We should check on her, follow up."

Luke lifted his cup and finished off his sweet beverage. "I agree with you there. Plus, I think she would appreciate seeing you again."

Kyp's eyes widened in surprise and his back stiffened. "Me?" he asked incredulously. Immediately, he tried to mask his shock with sarcasm. "When did I become galactic babysitter?"

Luke shrugged. "You're scheduled, finally, to be on Coruscant for the next few weeks to help out with classes anyway. Corran's busy with a newly-reunited family and Mara and I are too tied up at the temple to leave. You're the only familiar face with time to drop in."

Kyp opened his mouth as if to protest, then sighed in defeat. His face seemed a bit flushed at the thought of an impromptu visit. "I'll, uh, think on it," he said, standing and heading towards the door.

"Unless you think she'll be okay, of course," added Luke.

Kyp paused mid-stride, then turned back around narrowed his eyes at the Grand Master. "I see what you're doing."

Luke shrugged innocently. "We could just leave the poor woman be and see if anything develops. Unless, of course, you have a personal interest in maintaining her well being."

"Mara's rubbed off on you," Kyp retorted. He turned back around and hit the door activation. Two younglings walked past the door in the hallway outside. Kyp strode off into the hallway in the opposite direction, robes swirling behind him.

The door slid back shut, isolating the Grand Master as he chuckled to himself and returned to his work. It was not often he could make Kyp uncomfortable. It was true; Mara must be rubbing off on him. Though he sensed they might see Amia Vellan again, he got the feeling she was not the kind of person that would easily stray into darkness. She had proven herself clever and able enough. In the end, she had saved them. Whatever trials and tribulations the future held for her, Luke got the sense that Amia Vellan would thrive.

Only the Force knew for sure, but for the first time in a while, he had a good feeling about things.


End file.
